Read Online Hungry Spirits [Spirits 04] by Alice Duncan - Free Book Online Page B

at my shoulders in the mirror and hope they wouldn’t get any bulkier. Muscles are fine on football players, but I had an image to protect. A delicate, wafting mien, along with a pale and mysterious look, is my stock in trade, for the love of goodness. It was a mien difficult for me to maintain at the best of times, as I was naturally a robust and healthy person.
    Nevertheless, I’d do anything for Billy. He’d sacrificed his health—indeed, his life—for his country. The least I could do for him was bear up through the aftermath. “Are you steady?” I asked once he stood beside the wheelchair.
    “ I think so.”
    “ Do you want to put your arm around my shoulder or hold on to the chair?”
    “ I’ll try using the chair.”
    In the crisp November sunshine, Billy’s face looked pale and pasty, and it worried me. I’d talked to Dr. Benjamin dozens of times about the state of Billy’s health, or lack of it, and the doctor and I both knew the poor man was probably not long for this world. I wanted to cry whenever I thought about losing my darling Billy—even though he’d stopped being darling in approximately 1918. He was still my Billy, and I still loved him, so I put up with his uneven temper and tried my best not to react when he lost it. Today, he only looked weak and sick, and I wished I could take his burdens onto myself.
    Such was not to be, however, so I attempted to maintain a cheery aspect for all three of us. Spike, of course, didn’t have any trouble being cheerful. In fact, I do believe the dog would have been happy if it were he, and not Billy, whose health was so precarious. I suppose a person can learn a lot from a dog, if he—or in this case, she—wanted to. Dogs suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune just as humans do, but you don’t see a dog dwelling on its problems or getting crabby and brooding, do you? No, you don’t. Dogs seem very accepting of their fate.
    Unfortunately, Billy and I were humans, and we didn’t have Spike’s ability to look on the bright side of life.
    It occurred to me that perhaps Miss Emmaline Castleton might understand the burdens I had to bear, but then I told myself not to be absurd. Miss Castleton was rich as Croesus. I was only a poor middle-class fraud. For some reason, that thought made me sad, and I wondered if Miss Castleton had anyone to confide in about her secret woes. I hoped she had a dog to keep her company, at least.
    Then, my mental wanderings came to an abrupt halt.
    “ I can’t do this any longer,” Billy said after we’d walked no more than half a block.
    Instantly I held the chair still. “Are you sure?”
    “ Dammit, of course I’m sure.” His voice held a bitter combination of frustration and anger.
    I swallowed the retort dancing on my tongue, since it wouldn’t have done any good. Besides, Billy hated his problems even more than I did. “All right. I’ll hold the chair while you settle yourself.”
    Growling like a sulky bear, Billy did as I recommended. “Why don’t we go back home.” It didn’t sound like a question.
    I swallowed hard. “You don’t want to walk any farther?”
    “ Oh, I want to walk,” he said. “I can’t walk, is the problem. There’s no point in both of us ruining our health.”
    “ Walking is good for us, Billy,” I said, keeping my voice gentle. “Walking won’t ruin anyone’s health. Besides, Spike needs his exercise. Vi’s been feeding him too many treats.” This wasn’t technically true, but I’d noticed before that changing the topic of conversation from Billy’s unhappy condition to Spike sometimes settled the tension that seemed to build up around Billy and me every time we were alone together, a fact that made my heart ache. My heart always ached in those days. Stupid heart.
    At that moment, a car pulled to a stop at the curb beside Billy, Spike and me. Spike began his usual happy-greeting dance, punctuating it with gleeful barks, and I looked over to see none other