The Pennier- Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lilyanne decided she was going to buy a kitten for Benny.
“Can you tell me where Cherry Street is?” she asked.
“Go down the street, turn on the first street on the right, keep going and you’ll see a large oak. Next street you come to is Cherry.” Benny said.
“Thank you very much” Lilyanne thanked him and started on her way. She found the house in no time. She knocked on number 67’s door. A middle-aged woman answered.
“Hello,” She said as she opened the door. When she saw Lilyanne standing there, she stopped short. The woman stared quizzically at Lilyanne. Lilyanne remember that she hadn’t had a shower or a change of clothes in 2 weeks. The woman was about to shut the door on her because she knew of all the homeless people going around and begging for money from the richer people when Lilyanne said,
“Wait! I’ve come to inquire about the newspaper article you put in for kittens,” she said. The woman began to laugh.
“Like you really have twenty-nine cents to spare,” she said while laughing. She kept on laughing until Lilyanne said,
“Oh, I’ve got four dollars to spend,” The woman looked at her quizzically again.
“How could a pennier like you have four dollars to spend?” she asked Lilyanne. This time it was Lilyanne’s turn to look confused.
“What’s a pennier?” she asked the woman.
“A pennier is a term used by the Wisconsin people in the Great Misfortune to refer the less fortune human beings in our area,” she said in a matter-of-fact way.
“Well, I’ve still got twenty-nine cents to spend on one of your kittens,” Lilyanne told her in the same matter-of fact way. The woman finally stepped back so that Lilyanne could step inside the house, though she did so very reluctantly. Inside, the house was beautifully decorated. The woman led Lilyanne to a room with no carpeting, and then shut the door. When Lilyanne looked at her questionably, the woman said,
“I don’t want the kitten darlings to get out and ruin the carpeting and furniture,” she told Lilyanne. Lilyanne then saw a basket in the corner. In it were tiny little kittens.
“Oh, aren’t they adorable?” Lilyanne said, running over and picking one up.
“You must not touch them with your dirty hands!” the woman exclaimed.
“Well, they are for sale,” Lilyanne said. The woman didn’t say anything, but it was clear she was disturbed that Lilyanne was touching them.
“Well, I think these two are the ones for me,” Lilyanne finally said, handing the lady a one dollar bill.
“Oh, you’re not planning on buying two kittens,” the lady said while reaching over and taking the one dollar bill gratefully.
“Of course, I'm giving one to a friend and keeping one for myself,” Lilyanne said.
“Okay, well, I’ll go get your change,” the woman said, then left the room looking over her shoulder to make sure that Lilyanne was not eyeing other things around the room, hoping to steal them. The woman returned, gave Lilyanne her change and escorted her to the front door.
“Oh, by the way, do you know of any motels around here I could stay the night?” Lilyanne asked as she was going out the front door. The woman looked surprised but answered Lilyanne’s question.
“There is a place called the Hilltop Motel on Green Street,” she said. As Lilyanne started to go out the front door with her kittens, the woman stopped her.
“Wait, who you are anyway?” she said.
“Me? Oh, I haven’t introduced myself, I am Lilyanne Hildy,” Lilyanne told the woman.
“Where were you born? You sound so southern,” the woman said.
“I was born in the state of Louisiana,” Lilyanne said.
“Oh…Well, I haven’t introduced myself either! I am Martha Everhart, pleased to make your acquaintance,” Martha said cheerfully. Lilyanne wondered why Martha had all of the sudden been especially nice to her.