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Chapter 10
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Drawing 30,000 Suns for Mom Chapter 13
Many more years passed. Our shop, Sunny Side Up, moved to a bigger space. Vivian didn't have to fry every egg herself anymore—she'd hired a helper. Her job now was sitting behind the counter, doing the books, and watching me draw my suns. My drawings had started selling to places far, far away. Vivian told me they'd flown off to another world, the same place where my mother was.One day, near closing time, Vivian was so tired she fell asleep with her head down on the table. I was afraid she'd catch a chill, so I went looking for something to cover her with. I dug through the old backpack I used to keep my clothes in, and though I never found any clothes, right at the bottom, I found a very old wallet.It was my mother's.There was no money inside, just a folded, yellowed piece of paper. I pulled it out and handed it to Vivian when she woke up.She unfolded it and read it for a long, long time. As she read, tears started falling, the same way she'd cried in the rain the first time I
Drawing 30,000 Suns for Mom Chapter 12
Vivian got better. She stopped washing dishes at that loud, crowded restaurant. She took every dollar we had and rented a tiny little shop right below our apartment. She bought a pan, a spatula, and dozens and dozens of eggs, and hung a sign above the door: a big, round, sunny-side-up egg painted next to two words—Sunny Side Up.Vivian started selling fried eggs. Hers always came out round and gold, just like a real sun, and she'd draw smiley faces on top with ketchup. Everyone loved them.I helped out at the shop too. I couldn't do the math or talk to customers, so my job was sitting on the little stool by the door, drawing my suns, my notebook open beside me. Every customer who came in to buy an egg could see them. They all said the same thing—that the poor slow kid's suns were really something to look at.One day, a woman in beautiful clothes came in to buy an egg. She saw my drawings and asked Vivian, "Did your brother draw these?"Vivian nodded."I own a gallery," the woman s
Drawing 30,000 Suns for Mom Chapter 11
Vivian got sick. She came home with her face flushed red, like the sky at sunset, walking unsteadily, and collapsed onto the bed the moment she got through the door.I went over and shook her. Her whole body was burning—hotter even than my mother used to get with her fevers. It scared me. I thought of my mother, how she'd fallen asleep just like this and never woken up again. I couldn't let Vivian fall asleep too.I did what my mother used to do for me. I ran to the bathroom, soaked a towel, and laid it across Vivian's forehead. It heated up fast, so I kept running back for a cooler one.I wanted to cook for her too. I wanted to make her a sun-shaped egg. I turned on the stove, poured in oil, and cracked an egg into the pan, but the oil spat and popped, burning my hand. It hurt so badly. The egg burned black in the pan—nothing like a sun at all.I carried the plate of ruined, blackened egg over to her bedside. Vivian was still asleep, muttering in her fever. I couldn't make out the
Drawing 30,000 Suns for Mom Chapter 10
We arrived somewhere very far away. There were no tall buildings here—just low, squat houses, and the air smelled like grass and fresh earth. I liked it.We moved into an even smaller room. There was only one bed, and Vivian and I shared it. The mattress was hard, and it creaked whenever either of us turned over. But it was warm, because Vivian was right there beside me.She cut off her long hair, so it was as short as mine now. She stopped wearing those ripped jeans and put on a gray work uniform instead. She left early every morning and came home late every night, always carrying the smell of kitchen grease and sweat, but that faint hint of sunshine never left her.She didn't give me stale crackers anymore. Instead, she'd bring home hot meals from some loud, busy place where she worked—meat, vegetables, soup. Every night, she'd make me a sunny-side-up egg. Hers always came out round and golden, just like the suns I drew.I kept drawing my suns every day. That was my promise to my
Drawing 30,000 Suns for Mom Chapter 9
Vivian grabbed my hand and ran.She dragged a big backpack out from under the bed and shoved every piece of clothing from the closet into it, then dumped in all the cash from the nightstand drawer—bills of every denomination, several thick stacks of them. She packed fast and urgently, like a young deer running from a hunter.I stood by the door, not knowing what to do. I only knew we were leaving.She stuffed the bag full and zipped it shut, ready to go, but stopped after two steps. She turned back and looked toward the dark storage room where I'd spent all my time. She ran over, pulled out my battered cardboard box, opened it, and took out my notebook full of suns and the box of yellow crayons. She tucked them carefully into the top pocket of the backpack.Only then did she run back and grab my hand."Jamie, we're leaving."We ran down the stairs and out of the tall, old building. Outside, it was still dark, and the wind cut cold against my face. Vivian was tense, glancing back
Drawing 30,000 Suns for Mom Chapter 8
The man grabbed an empty beer bottle off the table and raised it high, ready to bring it down on Vivian's head.All I could think of was my mother's hand on my back, forcing me to memorize things, telling me, "Jamie, be strong!"I screamed. It came out loud and shrill, nothing like my usual voice—like a puppy whose tail had just been stepped on. I bolted out from under the table, running faster than I ever had, like some cartoon character sped up on screen. I threw my whole body into it, driving my head into the back of his leg.He lost his balance, yelped, and stumbled backward. The bottle flew out of his hand and shattered against the wall. He crashed to the floor with his full weight, the back of his skull striking the sharp iron corner of the radiator.He grunted once, his body jerked, and then he went still. His eyes stayed open, staring straight up at the ceiling. Red liquid pooled slowly beneath his head.The world went completely silent.Vivian scrambled up off the floor.
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