All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

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All the Ugly and Wonderful Things Page 34

by Bryn Greenwood


  After almost every sentence, I thought Kellen would cry, but he made it to the end of the letter.

  “Donal says, ‘I went to the garage and I saw you and Kellen together. I’m sorry about spying on you, but I was so scared. I needed to know you were okay. If you were with Kellen, I knew you were safe. Except the cops said … he—he raped you. Maybe that was my fault, because I told the cops that I saw you on the desk in the office with him. And then after Kellen got arrested, it wasn’t safe to tell anybody. Sean always said something bad could happen to you. I didn’t know what he might do, if Kellen wasn’t there to protect you. Now that Sean’s dead, I guess I can tell you. I hope you’re really coming to visit me like your letter says. Since you’re my sister, they say I can have a contact visit with you. See you soon. Love, Donal.’”

  Kellen picked up his napkin and blew his nose. He sat with his head down, until Wavy stood up and leaned over him. When he raised his head, she held his face in her hands and kissed him.

  She glanced at Mom and, for a good minute, all they did was look at each other. Mom had tears running down her face, but Wavy was smiling.

  “You wanted to protect me. I know. We’re going to be okay.”

  “I’m glad,” Mom whispered. She actually sounded it.

  The front door snapped open and Donal skulked into the dining room holding a Styrofoam cup. Fumbling in one of his sweatshirt pockets, he pulled out a handful of crumpled bills and the car keys. When he laid them on the table next to Kellen’s plate, a few coins rolled loose and fell on the floor.

  “Oh jeez,” he said, seeing us all looking weepy.

  “It’s okay. I think we’re done crying,” I said.

  Donal reached out and laid his hand on the back of Wavy’s neck.

  “Icy paws,” she said and swatted him away. For a second he cracked a smile.

  Then she picked up her plate and carried it out to the kitchen. Kellen followed her with the ham platter, and Donal trailed after them.

  When I took what was left of the pie into the kitchen, the three of them were standing at the sink. Donal and Wavy were both eating off her plate and Kellen was washing dishes. Seeing them next to each other, I figured out what was different about Wavy. The top of her head almost reached Kellen’s armpit. She had grown.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Bryn Greenwood is a fourth-generation Kansan and the daughter of a mostly reformed drug dealer. She earned an MA from Kansas State University and continues to work in academia as an administrator. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in The New York Times, Chiron Review, Kansas Quarterly, Karamu, and The Battered Suitcase. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Part One

  1. Amy

  2. Grandma

  3. Wavy

  4. Wavy

  5. Kellen

  6. Miss Degrassi

  7. Kellen

  8. Wavy

  9. Wavy

  10. Dee

  11. Amy

  12. Kellen

  Part Two

  1. Kellen

  2. Amy

  3. Kellen

  4. Wavy

  5. Miss Degrassi

  6. Kellen

  7. Wavy

  8. Butch

  9. Wavy

  10. Kellen

  11. Dee

  12. Donal

  13. Kellen

  Part Three

  1. Patty

  2. Wavy

  3. Miss Humphries

  4. Cutcheon

  5. Wavy

  6. Kellen

  7. Wavy

  8. Donal

  9. Casey

  10. Kellen

  11. Kellen

  12. Wavy

  Part Four

  1. Amy

  2. Butch

  3. Amy

  4. Wavy

  5. Amy

  6. Kellen

  7. Sheriff Grant

  8. Court Reporter

  9. Amy

  10. Donal

  11. Wavy

  12. Amy

  13. Kellen

  Part Five

  1. Renee

  2. Wavy

  3. Renee

  4. Kellen

  5. Renee

  6. Wavy

  7. Renee

  8. Wavy

  9. Kellen

  10. Renee

  11. Wavy

  12. Renee

  13. Wavy

  14. Kellen

  15. Renee

  16. Judge C. J. Maber

  17. Wavy

  18. Kellen

  19. Amy

  20. Kellen

  21. Amy

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.

  An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.

  ALL THE UGLY AND WONDERFUL THINGS. Copyright © 2016 by Bryn Greenwood. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.thomasdunnebooks.com

  www.stmartins.com

  Cover design by Olga Grlic.

  Cover photograph: night sky and stars © Michael Forsberg / Getty Images

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Names: Greenwood, Bryn, author.

  Title: All the ugly and wonderful things: a novel / Bryn Greenwood.

  Description: First edition.|New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martins Press, 2016.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016002476|ISBN 9781250074133 (hardcover)|ISBN 9781466885806 (e-book)

  Subjects: LCSH: Children of drug addicts—Fiction.|Domestic fiction.|BISAC: FICTION / Literary.|FICTION / Coming of Age.

  Classification: LCC PS3607.R4695 A45 2016|DDC 813/.6—dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016002476

  e-ISBN 9781466885806

  Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].

  First Edition: August 2016

 

 

 


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