Read Online Angel of Mercy by Andrew Neiderman - Free Book Online

lips.
    “It’s great.”
    Susie nodded.
    “I like to cook. Faye hates it,” she said. “After our mother died, I did all the cooking for her and my father. Actually, I did a lot of the cooking before she died, too.”
    “What did she die of”
    “Heart disease, just like your wife/’
    “Everyone seems to think it’s a man’s problem,” Tommy said. “I must say, I was surprised when Sylvia had a heart attack.”
    “Faye says that’s a common misconception,” Susie remarked. “Especially now that women smoke more than men and eat the same fat-filled diets.”
    She blew on her coffee for a moment, her eyes fixed in a blank stare.
    “You said there was a list?”
    “Pardon?”
    “Of people who had called?”
    “Oh, yes.” She rose and returned to the counter to tear a page off the notebook by the phone.
    “Wow,” Tommy said. “This many calls and I slept through all of it.”
    “Faye said she gave you a powerful sedative to be sure you got a good night’s rest.”
    “Yeah, I remember now. Something of Sylvia’s, she said. I don’t take sleeping pills as a rule.”
    “I’m sure Faye thought you needed them. She wouldn’t give anyone pills if she wasn’t positive. She hates to overmedicate and she’s very critical of doctors who prescribe pills like candy,” Susie said.
    Tomnly smiled at the vehement way Susie defended her twin sister.
    “I guess you two are pretty close, being twins and all.”
    “We’ve always been close, even when Faye was away at college. We look after each other.”
    Tommy smiled.
    “With all that’s going on in this rotten world, that’s nice to see nowadays. Too many of the younger generation are into themselves,” he remarked. Susie picked up on it quickly.
    “Faye says the generation gap just seems to be growing wider and widen Different values, different priorities.”
    Tommy nodded. These were almost Sylvia’s exact words.
    “Both you and your sister seem very wise for women so young,” he said.
    “Faye and I side with the older generation more often than not, which is why we both work so much and spend most of our time alone.”
    “Neither of you has been close to being married, then?”
    “Faye was once … with a young doctor,” she replied.
    “What happened?”
    “He had a tragic accident… he took too many uppers to keep working and crashed in his car.”
    “Oh. That is sad. But how about you? You’re just as pretty,” Tommy remarked. She was. She had the same beautiful eyes, the same rich-looking hair and complexion and just about the same figure. Big deal, so she limped, he thought.
    “Every time I measure a prospective boyfriend against the man my father was, a man like you, he comes up short. I just won’t settle for anyone less,” Susie added firmly. Tommy smiled.
    “Well, you’re a very pretty and a very nice person, so the man who finally wins your heart is going to be a very lucky man,” Tommy said.
    Susie didn’t smile. Her eyes suddenly turned cold and her lips firm.
    “I’m not optimistic,” she said. “And besides, when I see how much it hurts to lose the one you love, I’m afraid I hesitate to get too involved. It’s a horrible paradox. The more you love someone and he or she loves you, the harder it is to face life without him or without her.”
    Tommy just stared up at her. He didn’t know whether to feel sorry for her or admire her. Was she better off with this attitude? He certainly couldn’t disagree with her description of the pain accompanying the loss of a dearly beloved.
    “I know how much you’re going to miss Sylvia,” she said, “even though you’re the strong, silent type.
    Just like my father was,” Susie said wagging her head.
    “Men think if they keep their sorrow inside and let their tears fall behind their eyes, they’re more manly and it hurts less. But the truth is, that hurts more. It pulls and pulls at your heart and wears you down until you feel just like you do right now. I bet I could