Page 16 of Peach Tree Family

"I have to get the job first," he said as Ace came in to see what they were doing.

Hearing what his big brother said, Ace looked up at Seth. "You think Theo is going to get the job?"

Seth could tell he was anxious. "He has a good chance," Seth told him confidently.

By the time it got dark, most of the boards were off, and they went to have a little more of the food from Peach Tree Café. For Seth it was a nice change to be able to get his fill of good things to eat.

"Now the surprise?" Ace asked when they were done eating.

Theo nodded. "Go ahead."

Ace brought out a bag of candy from a shopping bag and yelled, "Worms!"

Seth laughed as Ace offered him some sour gummy worms.

"Yes, this is all because you said you liked them," Theo told him.

"We're sharing them," Ace said to Theo as he bit into one and made a face at the sour flavor.

"Good and sour," Seth said as he had one too and made a big show of how sour it was to make Ace laugh.

Then Ace pushed the bag at his big brother. "You too, Theo. Make the sour face."

For Ace's sake, Theo put on a act like the sour worms were real tough for him to handle, and he had Ace giggling.

Seth hadn't tasted sour worms for a good long while, and he had only thought of his old favorite because Ace reminded him of things from when he was a kid, good things only, moments when he would forget his troubles and just get lost in a taste of an ice pop or sour candy, whatever cheap treat he could get his hands on.

By the light of the camping lantern, Ace told Seth about his most exciting video game battles, and the little guy tuckered himself out. Once he was asleep in the sleeping bag, it was just Seth and Theo. They moved to the far side of the living room, and Seth got the lowdown on what Theo would do if the job at the inn didn't pan out.

"My best bet will be something in Ashbury. That's the next town north of here, but getting to and from work on a bus is going to eat up a lot of time. I don't know what I'll do with Ace."

"I'll feel bad for taking the cafe job if you don't get the one at the inn," Seth said.

"That's not a long-term solution anyway. I might find something closer."

"Peach Tree isn't one of those dying small towns. You might find something there," Seth said but he was already feeling guilty. "How did you like the town?"

"Not bad. It had a pretty good vibe. The shopping was decent," Theo said.

"I didn't get to see much of it, just from the cafe windows," Seth told him. "It's nothing like where I came from. Waterfield is a miserable little hole."

"I guess that's why you left."

"Yeah. Finally."

"You said you granddad is gone. Sorry about that. What about the rest of your family?"

"Scattered. What about your folks?" Seth asked so he wouldn't have to talk about his own, but then he realized that Theo might find it even harder to talk about his family.

"We lost our dad a while ago, when Ace was still a baby. A leak at the chemical plant where he worked. Our mom two years ago."

Theo stopped speaking and Seth didn't ask any more. His own parents disappeared from his life, but to have a mom and dad die on them and when Ace was still a little kid too...

"Why is Ace so worried about taking charity?" Seth asked.

"That's my fault. This girl who was trying to get to me through Ace kept giving him stuff. One time he heard me tell her that we didn't want her charity. He took it to heart."

"It's hard to explain to a kid that some gifts aren't free. And I did bring that food hoping you'd let me stay here again," Seth confessed.

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