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Authors: Eileen Browne
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eavesdrop on the conversation. Except for a trip to the Quickie-Mart for beer, Rena hadn’t seen her husband move all day.
“He’s killing himself,” Rena said to Kate. “Slowly but surely. It’s painful to watch, you know. What’s worse is, he’s taking me down with him. It’s hard I have to take care of Luba; if he gets sick,” she said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder toward the front room, “God knows what I’ll do. I don’t feel that strong an obligation to him anymore.”
“He is sick, Rena; with grief.”
“Grief? For who, Kate: Luba or himself? Ask me, he’s sick with self-pity.”
“Do you talk to him? About his drinking?” Rena regarded Kate as if this were no longer an option. “I could,” Kate offered. “I’ve done couples counseling in the past. It might help.”
“He ignores his own doctor, Kate; you’re only a nurse. Why should he listen to you?” It was said with neither malice nor judgment, but laid out between them as a simple declaration of fact.
“No reason, really. If you don’t think it’s such a good idea…” Kate left the thought unfinished.
Rena Dojcsak did not encourage her. Moments later, Kate said goodbye: to Rena, Luba, who was asleep, and to Dojcsak, who sat in his reclining chair, slumped to one side. Jenny was not at home.
“Bad luck, Ed,” Rena said to Dojcsak now, her dark eyes heavy with concern. “Bad luck has plagued Maggie Bitson since she was a child. If something like this had to happen, I’m not surprised it happened to her.”
Fatigue making him abrupt, Dojcsak snapped, “It has nothing to do with luck, Rena, bad or otherwise.”
“Oh,” she replied, refusing to meet his gaze. “I know your philosophy, Ed. But I don’t accept it. We may not be entirely blameless for our misfortune, but there don’t always have to be consequences.”
“Consequences are what distinguish good behavior from bad.”
“I don’t know about that, Ed.” Rena moved to the countertop, retrieved the coffee pot, refilled Dojcsak’s cup and her own. She sat. She sipped her coffee slowly, steam rising from the hot liquid. “I prefer to believe, sometimes, bad things do happen to decent people.”
“It’s how we atone, then,” said Dojcsak.
“Atone for what, Ed? Our sins: mine, yours? Hell, you don’t even attend church. As far as God is concerned, you’re not even on the radar. Besides, following your twisted logic, how do you account for our children?”
“Luba’s done nothing to disappoint us,” Dojcsak replied, on the cusp of becoming defensive.
“Christ, Ed, she’s dying. To a parent, what could be more disappointing?”
“You know what I’m saying.”
“Do I? Do I ever?”
Dojcsak stared quietly into the black pool of his coffee mug, reluctant to be drawn into a bout of self-recrimination. As Luba’s condition deteriorated and Jenny’s behavior turning further beyond their ability to control, episodes such as this had become more frequent and rancorous.
After a moment, Rena said, “Have you any idea who might be responsible?” With one look, Dojcsak conveyed to Rena all she needed to know. “You should speak to Angelique.”
“A soothsayer?”
“Psychic, Ed, she refers to herself as a psychic.”
“Psychic, mystic, fortune-teller; I don’t see the difference, Rena, even if you do. Are you still seeing that witch?”
“You know I am, and before you dismiss her completely, remember, she helped to discover the bodies of those girls who went missing last summer, the one in Saratoga, and before that, the girl in Hudson Falls.”
“It wasn’t a miracle, Rena, only a lucky guess. One girl loved horses, had been hanging around the paddocks: probably got herself into trouble with a stable boy. Even the newspapers had drawn conclusions of their own. The other was a runaway who was badly decomposed. They suspect a hit and run. Being so close to the roadway, her body was going to be discovered eventually, anyway. Besides, if
“He’s killing himself,” Rena said to Kate. “Slowly but surely. It’s painful to watch, you know. What’s worse is, he’s taking me down with him. It’s hard I have to take care of Luba; if he gets sick,” she said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder toward the front room, “God knows what I’ll do. I don’t feel that strong an obligation to him anymore.”
“He is sick, Rena; with grief.”
“Grief? For who, Kate: Luba or himself? Ask me, he’s sick with self-pity.”
“Do you talk to him? About his drinking?” Rena regarded Kate as if this were no longer an option. “I could,” Kate offered. “I’ve done couples counseling in the past. It might help.”
“He ignores his own doctor, Kate; you’re only a nurse. Why should he listen to you?” It was said with neither malice nor judgment, but laid out between them as a simple declaration of fact.
“No reason, really. If you don’t think it’s such a good idea…” Kate left the thought unfinished.
Rena Dojcsak did not encourage her. Moments later, Kate said goodbye: to Rena, Luba, who was asleep, and to Dojcsak, who sat in his reclining chair, slumped to one side. Jenny was not at home.
“Bad luck, Ed,” Rena said to Dojcsak now, her dark eyes heavy with concern. “Bad luck has plagued Maggie Bitson since she was a child. If something like this had to happen, I’m not surprised it happened to her.”
Fatigue making him abrupt, Dojcsak snapped, “It has nothing to do with luck, Rena, bad or otherwise.”
“Oh,” she replied, refusing to meet his gaze. “I know your philosophy, Ed. But I don’t accept it. We may not be entirely blameless for our misfortune, but there don’t always have to be consequences.”
“Consequences are what distinguish good behavior from bad.”
“I don’t know about that, Ed.” Rena moved to the countertop, retrieved the coffee pot, refilled Dojcsak’s cup and her own. She sat. She sipped her coffee slowly, steam rising from the hot liquid. “I prefer to believe, sometimes, bad things do happen to decent people.”
“It’s how we atone, then,” said Dojcsak.
“Atone for what, Ed? Our sins: mine, yours? Hell, you don’t even attend church. As far as God is concerned, you’re not even on the radar. Besides, following your twisted logic, how do you account for our children?”
“Luba’s done nothing to disappoint us,” Dojcsak replied, on the cusp of becoming defensive.
“Christ, Ed, she’s dying. To a parent, what could be more disappointing?”
“You know what I’m saying.”
“Do I? Do I ever?”
Dojcsak stared quietly into the black pool of his coffee mug, reluctant to be drawn into a bout of self-recrimination. As Luba’s condition deteriorated and Jenny’s behavior turning further beyond their ability to control, episodes such as this had become more frequent and rancorous.
After a moment, Rena said, “Have you any idea who might be responsible?” With one look, Dojcsak conveyed to Rena all she needed to know. “You should speak to Angelique.”
“A soothsayer?”
“Psychic, Ed, she refers to herself as a psychic.”
“Psychic, mystic, fortune-teller; I don’t see the difference, Rena, even if you do. Are you still seeing that witch?”
“You know I am, and before you dismiss her completely, remember, she helped to discover the bodies of those girls who went missing last summer, the one in Saratoga, and before that, the girl in Hudson Falls.”
“It wasn’t a miracle, Rena, only a lucky guess. One girl loved horses, had been hanging around the paddocks: probably got herself into trouble with a stable boy. Even the newspapers had drawn conclusions of their own. The other was a runaway who was badly decomposed. They suspect a hit and run. Being so close to the roadway, her body was going to be discovered eventually, anyway. Besides, if
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