Chapter 12“I
heard those weird sounds again last night.” Connie butters a slice of toast, hands Ceci half.
“You heard the ice expanding on the lake.”
“No, Reet, this was an other-worldly sound.”
“Trust me, it’s the lake. If you’d budge from this house, you’d see for yourself. Come on, Con. You could use some fresh air.”
“Some other time,” Connie says, toddling off to the living room.
Loaves and Fishes doesn’t open till ten but by nine o’clock, people have started lining up along the side entrance, their heads ducked down, their gaits low-slung. Rita doesn’t have the heart to make them wait.
“You’re setting a bad precedent,” Janet says.
“What difference does it make?” Rita starts for the door. “It’s cold out and there’s so many of them.”
“Because there’s just one of you. If you wan
