Lucky 7

My lovely sister-in-law ("the other Amy Sonnichsen") is getting married this weekend, so we're heading out of town for the wedding. Things are busier than normal for sure. Not only do we  have packing and primping to accomplish (and the very-important question of which pair of shoes will go best with my dress!), but today we're having all our heating ducts cleaned after the great toilet overflow.

Meanwhile, this Lucky 7 bit-of-fun has been circulating the blogiverse, so when Sarah Pearson invited anyone who hadn't been tagged yet to join in, I jumped at it the opportunity for a short, fun post. I've loved reading other excerpts from people's novels, so I'm taking a deep breath and diving in.

 Here are the Lucky 7 guidelines:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WiP
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences or paragraphs, and post them as they're written
4. Tag 7 authors

Here's my 77th page, 7th line, 7 paragraphs, from my currently-shelved-awaiting-revision novel RED BUTTERFLY:  (and, of course, Blogger has done something ridiculous with my formatting!)
“Would you do that with Madison—give her to your next door neighbors and send money every month? Would you even think of doing that?”
“Of course not!” 
“Then why are you telling me to do it?”
“Because she’s not your daughter!” Jody cries. “And you need to get a life!”

I wrap the pillow around my face, up to my ears, but there’s no need. The conversation ends abruptly. The bedroom door opens and Mom stalks in. I can hear her raspy breathing through the semi-darkness as she clicks the door shut behind her. The lights from the opposite building cast strange shadows across the bed, lighting Mom’s face in an artificial glow. She blinks in the dimness, her face haggard, jaw slack. She looks as if she’s lived a thousand years since this morning. 

“You heard all that,” she says when she sees me awake.

I bury my face again. The bed creaks as Mom crawls over it. She wraps her arms around me and hoists me over so I’m bundled on her lap. “I wanted to be the one to tell you,” she says. “About Daddy. I’m angry with Jody for going behind my back—” She chokes on tears and I bury my face in her bosom, against the cotton of her blouse. “This is a hard problem, Kara, but we’ll figure something out. I don’t want you to be afraid.”

Have you played Lucky 7 yet? If not, consider yourself tagged!