Read Online After Life by Andrew Neiderman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Andrew Neiderman
Ads: Link
the age of exposure and
confession.
Jessie was so lost in her thoughts about Tracy and about the things she
had heard in the afternoon that she didn't hear Lee enter.
Well, this is a first, he declared. You, not hearing me?
Oh Lee. She rose and went to him.
What's wrong? he asked when he felt how she was trembling. Something
happen since I spoke with you on the phone?
She told him about the sound of the digging and her conversation with
old man Carter.
Lee laughed.
Jess, I'm sure the old guy is starting to lose it.
He probably doesn't remember what he does from one moment to the next.
Besides, what would be his reason for Lying to you about something like
that?
I don't know, she said.
So? Don't worry about it. I'm starving. Let's eat.
You had a good practice?
It was better than yesterday. There was less fouling and other
shenanigans and no one complained about my fitness program. Oh, and the
Benson kid . . .
Yes?
He played very well. If his father's behavior is bothering him, he's
sure good at hiding it. He behaved as if nothing had happened and his
father wasn't in jail.
He couldn't have been in better spirits.
Maybe he just doesn't care about him, Lee.
Yeah, I suppose that happens. So, tell me about your day with Tracy
Baker. I'm sure you have plenty of gossip to relate.
Now, Lee, you know we don't gossip. We discuss, she said, and he
laughed. You don't have to shower and change for dinner?
Naw, I did it at school.
I guess you're getting into it then, she said happy I guess so. It just
takes time. Like anything else, it just takes time, he repeated, and
followed her to the kitchen to help get their dinner.
It wasn't until after they had sat down at the table and had begun
eating that he noticed the oddest thing.
Well, I'll be damned, he said suddenly, interrupting her description of
the Gardner Town diner.
What?
I just noticed the craziest thing.
What?
After I showered and got dressed in my office . . .
Yes?
I put on the wrong sneakers.
What? How could you do that?
They were just there in my locker, one of Kurt Andersen's extra pairs. I
guess I just grabbed them with out thinking and put them on.
But the oddest thing is they fit . . . perfectly, and I had gotten
the impression from his description and from some of the pictures of him
in the office that he was a much bigger man than I am.
He could be taller and heavier and still have the same foot size as you,
Lee.
Yeah, I suppose so. I tell you, honey, I was reading through some of
his old correspondence today, and at times I must have been just as
angry and frustrated as he had been.
You pick up where a guy left off, he continued almost as if he just
passed you the ball, and you continue down the court, even wearing his
shoes.
Just as long as you don't end up the same way, Yeah, he said. Right.
The long moment of silence between them was unnerving. He was happy
when she began to talk about her day with Tracy Baker again. But he
couldn't stop wondering what the hell he was thinking of when he put on
someone else's sneakers.
It's a big house, Lee began with enough surprise in his voice to impress
Jessie. And it looks like they have a nice piece of property, too. I'd
say a couple of acres.
How big is the house? Bigger than the DeGroot house?
Oh yeah. It's very pretty. Looks recently painted.
Wedgwood blue, he continued as he slowed down to turn into the Bakers'
driveway. He had made it his business to get better and better at
describing things, feeling now that his eyes had to see for the two of
them.
That, plus his own lingering guilt, made it important that he do
anything and everything he could to compensate for Jessie's handicap.
It's a two-story, wood frame building with a steeply pitched roof.
There's a prominent central cross gable on
confession.
Jessie was so lost in her thoughts about Tracy and about the things she
had heard in the afternoon that she didn't hear Lee enter.
Well, this is a first, he declared. You, not hearing me?
Oh Lee. She rose and went to him.
What's wrong? he asked when he felt how she was trembling. Something
happen since I spoke with you on the phone?
She told him about the sound of the digging and her conversation with
old man Carter.
Lee laughed.
Jess, I'm sure the old guy is starting to lose it.
He probably doesn't remember what he does from one moment to the next.
Besides, what would be his reason for Lying to you about something like
that?
I don't know, she said.
So? Don't worry about it. I'm starving. Let's eat.
You had a good practice?
It was better than yesterday. There was less fouling and other
shenanigans and no one complained about my fitness program. Oh, and the
Benson kid . . .
Yes?
He played very well. If his father's behavior is bothering him, he's
sure good at hiding it. He behaved as if nothing had happened and his
father wasn't in jail.
He couldn't have been in better spirits.
Maybe he just doesn't care about him, Lee.
Yeah, I suppose that happens. So, tell me about your day with Tracy
Baker. I'm sure you have plenty of gossip to relate.
Now, Lee, you know we don't gossip. We discuss, she said, and he
laughed. You don't have to shower and change for dinner?
Naw, I did it at school.
I guess you're getting into it then, she said happy I guess so. It just
takes time. Like anything else, it just takes time, he repeated, and
followed her to the kitchen to help get their dinner.
It wasn't until after they had sat down at the table and had begun
eating that he noticed the oddest thing.
Well, I'll be damned, he said suddenly, interrupting her description of
the Gardner Town diner.
What?
I just noticed the craziest thing.
What?
After I showered and got dressed in my office . . .
Yes?
I put on the wrong sneakers.
What? How could you do that?
They were just there in my locker, one of Kurt Andersen's extra pairs. I
guess I just grabbed them with out thinking and put them on.
But the oddest thing is they fit . . . perfectly, and I had gotten
the impression from his description and from some of the pictures of him
in the office that he was a much bigger man than I am.
He could be taller and heavier and still have the same foot size as you,
Lee.
Yeah, I suppose so. I tell you, honey, I was reading through some of
his old correspondence today, and at times I must have been just as
angry and frustrated as he had been.
You pick up where a guy left off, he continued almost as if he just
passed you the ball, and you continue down the court, even wearing his
shoes.
Just as long as you don't end up the same way, Yeah, he said. Right.
The long moment of silence between them was unnerving. He was happy
when she began to talk about her day with Tracy Baker again. But he
couldn't stop wondering what the hell he was thinking of when he put on
someone else's sneakers.
It's a big house, Lee began with enough surprise in his voice to impress
Jessie. And it looks like they have a nice piece of property, too. I'd
say a couple of acres.
How big is the house? Bigger than the DeGroot house?
Oh yeah. It's very pretty. Looks recently painted.
Wedgwood blue, he continued as he slowed down to turn into the Bakers'
driveway. He had made it his business to get better and better at
describing things, feeling now that his eyes had to see for the two of
them.
That, plus his own lingering guilt, made it important that he do
anything and everything he could to compensate for Jessie's handicap.
It's a two-story, wood frame building with a steeply pitched roof.
There's a prominent central cross gable on
Similar Books
