Читать книгу Tommy's Mom - Linda Johnston O. - Страница 10

The yelling made Tommy Poston look up, but only for a second. He knew big people yelled at each other. His mommy and daddy did sometimes. Mostly they didn’t. And they both loved him. They’d told him so.

He was a big boy. That was why Daddy had said he could stay in this room all by himself and sit here at this table and color his pretty pictures.

Tommy liked to use crayons. Bright colors were his favorite. Lots of bright colors. Today, he colored some flowers, red and purple and yellow with great, big, pretty green leaves.

Daddy was still yelling in the next room. So was someone else. How many big people were there yelling? Tommy couldn’t tell. He didn’t like so much yelling. He picked up an orange crayon and drew a sad face with it. But sad faces shouldn’t be with flowers, so he crossed it out. He took a red crayon and tried to make another flower.

Then there was a loud sound like when he dropped something, two loud sounds, and no more yelling. That was better.

Except that after another minute, Tommy didn’t like being by himself in here anymore. He didn’t hear talking, either. Did Daddy and Mr. Sperling go away? Did they leave him alone?

“Daddy?” Tommy called.

But Daddy didn’t answer.

“Daddy?” His lower lip trembling, Tommy pushed his big chair away from the table and jumped down. Just like his mommy taught him, he reached way up high to the table and packed his crayons back into their box. He put them with his papers and other stuff into his pretty red bag and put the bag away.

“Daddy?” he called again. But Daddy didn’t come. And Tommy still didn’t hear him in the next room.

Daddy didn’t say he couldn’t come see him, so Tommy went to the door and pulled it open.

Mr. Sperling’s shop had lots of shelves and cabinets, tall ones that Tommy couldn’t see over, with lots and lots of things on them and in them. Tommy stopped and looked around. He didn’t see Daddy or Mr. Sperling. He walked farther into the room.

He didn’t want to cry. He was a big boy. But he wanted his daddy or his mommy. “Daddy?” He tried just to whisper, but it came out loud.

He saw a movement and turned toward his daddy. Only it wasn’t his daddy. It was a monster! It had come to life!

Its face was great big, green and ugly, with a red tongue, giant teeth and a mean frown. And it came toward him. Its arms were raised and it reached its claws toward Tommy.

“Grrrr!” It was growling at him. “Go away, little boy,” it shouted. “Get out of here! Now!”

“Nooo!” Tommy cried out as he ran toward the door of the shop. Only there was a big counter in the way. As he got near it, he tripped. He looked down. And screamed, “Daddy!”

But Daddy was asleep. There was bright red all over him. Blood, like when Tommy fell down and cut his knee.

And the monster came closer.

“I said get out of here, little boy. And if you ever talk, if you ever tell anyone what you saw, I’ll come and get you.”

Gasping to breathe, Tommy ran around Daddy and toward the glass front door. It was a big door. A heavy door. But he pushed and pushed. And then he got it open.

Tommy ran outside and down the sidewalk, screaming and crying and very, very scared.