the shameless chicken gathering.
“I’m getting them all.”
“But you can’t! That won’t leave anything for anyone else.”
“I’m sure they wouldn’t sell anyway. It’s late. They’ll just
end up throwing them in the garbage. Besides, I need them. I
won’t waste them.”
“But eight?”
“Eight.”
Emily gaped at Danica. “You’re going to eat eight
chickens?”
Danica’s right eye started twitching, but then a few seconds
later, so did her lips. “I’m not going to eat them all tonight.
There’s this handy thing called a fridge and on top the fridge is
a freezer. I’ll pick all the meat off them, freeze most of it, boil
down the carcasses and make soup. I told you. No waste.”
“You can make soup from… Never mind.” Emily realized
how insanely stupid she sounded. Danica obviously did too,
but she let it go.
“I should get a few other things. Carrots, celery, beans, corn,
potatoes.”
“Okay.” Emily followed Danica around the store as if she
was in a trance.
Those chickens, which had a label that proclaimed them to
be seasoned with rosemary and herbs, smelled so good,
Emily’s mouth watered. By the time they got to the checkout
line, she was surprised she wasn’t drooling all over herself.
Dani paid for her groceries, then wheeled the cart out into
&
nbsp; the parking lot. She drove a rusty old red hatchback. Emily
didn’t know what kind of car it was. She was bad at car things.