The Wikkeling by Steven Arntson Page B

Gad-Fly,” said Ms. Span.
    â€œFOLLOW THE SIGNS TO THE LOT EXIT AND TURN LEFT.” Ms. Span navigated accordingly. “WHILE YOU DRIVE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR SOME ADVERTISEMENTS FOR PRODUCTS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU?”
    â€œNo,” said Ms. Span.
    â€œTHANK YOU,” said the car. “THIS THANK-YOU WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MIRACLE MEDICAL’S EARHELPER. EARHELPER IS AN AUDIO REFINEMENT DEVICE THAT REDUCES TRAFFIC NOISE WHILE INCREASING VOICE CLARITY. EVER HAVE TROUBLE HEARING WHAT YOUR CAR IS SAYING WHILE YOU DRIVE? WITH EARHELPER, YOU’LL NEVER SAY ‘WHAT?’ AGAIN.”
    Ms. Span reached the parking lot exit and passed through the pay station.
    â€œSEVENTY DOLLARS AND SIXTY-SEVEN CENTS HAS BEEN AUTOMATICALLY WITHDRAWN FROM YOUR ACCOUNT,” said the car. “THANK YOU FOR USING AUTODEDUCT. YOUR CONVENIENCE IS OURREWARD. TURN LEFT.”
    â€œSo, Henrietta,” said Ms. Span. “Which house do you live in?”
    â€œThe one with the peaked roof.”
    â€œ
Oh
,” said Ms. Span. She was silent for a few moments. “Is that . . . very old?”
    â€œIt’s safe,” said Henrietta.
    â€œBut, your headaches,” said Mrs. Span. “You’re getting House Sick, aren’t you?”
    â€œNobody really knows for sure,” said Henrietta.
    â€œGary,” said Ms. Span, “I think you should wait in the car when we arrive. I’m worried your House Sickness might come back if you go in.”
    â€œOh, Mom,” said Gary, “I haven’t had a headache in a long time. Can’t I come in just for a minute?
Ple-ease
?” His
please
utilized a special tone that children have, which can crack almost any parental decree, and Ms. Span reluctantly assented.
    They drove in silence for a while, Gary occasionally waggling his eyebrows at Henrietta to call attention to the perfect success of his plan.
    When the car reached their block, Ms. Span turned left into Henrietta’s driveway, and the engine stopped automatically. Henrietta and Gary extricated themselves from their seat belts and stepped onto the driveway with Ms. Span.
    â€œI can’t wait to show—” Henrietta began, but she stopped halfway through the sentence.
    â€œWhat?” said Gary.
    Henrietta pointed toward her roof. There were two dim squares near the top of the house where the siding was a slightly darker color.
    â€œWhat are you looking at, Henrietta?” said Ms. Span.
    Henrietta retracted her hand. “It’s a different color,” she said. But what she was thinking was,
Where are the attic windows
?
    They reached the front door, and Henrietta’s mother opened it, wearing a bright yellow blouse and brown polyester slacks.
    â€œHi, Mom,” said Henrietta.
    â€œHi, honey,” she said, looking not at Henrietta, but at Ms. Span. “Hello, Ms. Span,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m Aline, Henrietta’s mother.”
    â€œIt’s nice to meet you, Aline. Call me Margaret.”
    â€œPlease, come in,” said Henrietta’s mother. Henrietta and Gary entered, and Ms. Span cautiously followed. They stepped into the sitting room, a space Henrietta and her parents didn’t use much, though it contained some of their nicest furniture: a shiny vinyl couch, two chairs with faux-leather backs, and a long plastic table with legs shaped like columns of cell phones, which Henrietta’s mother had bought for her father when he got his job at TinCan TeleComm. The table was empty but for a single glass vase that contained a fabric rose tastefully adorned with plastic dewdrops.
    Ms. Span studied the room, especially the ceiling. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a house this old,” she said.
    â€œSorry,” said Henrietta’s mother. “We’re moving out soon.”
    â€œNot until the end of the school year, though, right?” said Henrietta. Her mother had said