Read Online Life Sentences by Alice Blanchard - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Alice Blanchard
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the asphalt's warmth surprised her. She padded along in her bare
feet while a Buick Regal drove past, casting a large shadow over the motel's
facade. Her own shadow grew like a cornstalk, then slid sideways in
the headlights' glare as the car sped up the boulevard. These shadows were
reborn again as another car drove past, detritus stirring and skittering
in its wake.
Back inside the false security
of her cabin, Daisy took a seat in a moldy-feeling armchair and drank
her soda, gripped by an undefined panic. There was nothing to do now
but wait. She rubbed her shivering arms. It was too early to call Lily. She
had to fix her eyes on something. Anything. Fear was a slippery incline.
She turned on the TV and wrapped her arms around her knees. She had brought
the smell of outside in, her molecules mingling with the heavy metals
of this polluted city.
2.
Ihe next
morning, Daisy woke up in a strange place and stared at the nautical
wallpaper a full minute before finally remembering where she was.
She was in the cheesiest motel in America. She assessed the ugly plaid
furniture, the novelty clamshell smoking a cigar on the dresser, the
plastic sign on the wall that insisted: enjoy our BEA- oo -TJHJL
pool! She struggled to sit up, all the muscles of her abdomen tightening
as if to ward off a blow. Anna's gone.
Anna's missing .
She checked her watch. Almost nine
o'clock. Time to go.
She hopped out of bed, got dressed
and called a cab.
Outside, she could feel a sweat
breaking out on her skin while the sun shone in all the sleepy crevices
of her face. A green and white taxi pulled up to the curb, and she gave
the driver the address of the police station, then took out her cell phone
and speed-dialed her mother's number. "Hi, Mom, it's me," she said.
"Daisy? Do the police know anything
yet?"
"I'm on my way there right
now." Fragments of light hit her eyes, the sun's reflection bouncing
off the sleek hoods and tinted windows of too many BMWs, Mercedes and Porsches.
"What's the weather like?"
Lily asked.
"Hot."
"Really? It snowed again last
night."
"I figured," Daisy said.
"How was your flight?"
"Bumpy. We fought the jet stream
the whole way. L.A.'s huge, Mom. So huge and impersonal. I don't know how
she lasted a month, let alone ten."
"You know Anna…"
"I've gotta go." She squinted into the bright sunshine. "Call you later,
okay?"
"Daisy?"
"Yes?"
"I want you to know how much I
appreciate this."
"It's okay, Mom. Love
you."
"Love you, too."
She put her cell phone away.
The closer they got to the beach,
the cooler it became, and Daisy started to see an abundance of T-shirt
shops, tattoo parlors and sidewalk cafes. There were people out jogging
and sightseeing. As they turned left onto Ocean Avenue, the glimmering
Pacific came into view, its rough surf kicking up sea spray beyond a
strip of sand. She was tempted to press her nose against the dirty glass as
they drove past bikini-clad Rollerbladers and
shirtless boys showing off their abs. She enjoyed the circuslike atmosphere
of the street musicians and fire-eaters competing with acrobats and
jugglers for tourist dollars. There was entertainment on every corner,
bold murals air-brushed onto the sides of buildings, boardwalk booths
selling everything from caricatures to knockoff designer sunglasses.
A pink-haired woman with a large snake draped over her shoulders rode
her bike dangerously close to the cab, smiled at Daisy and veered away.
After another mile of on-again,
off-again traffic, they drove further inland, away from the beach, then
pulled into an ugly minimall . "Here you
go," the cabdriver said, stopping the meter.
Daisy looked around. There was a
Thai take-out place, a funky shoe repair shop and a used car lot festooned
with lime-green plastic flags. Only the swaying palm trees broke the monotony
of the gritty, prefab landscape. "Where's the police station?"
she asked.
"That gray building over there."
She spotted the square gray stucco
building anchoring
feet while a Buick Regal drove past, casting a large shadow over the motel's
facade. Her own shadow grew like a cornstalk, then slid sideways in
the headlights' glare as the car sped up the boulevard. These shadows were
reborn again as another car drove past, detritus stirring and skittering
in its wake.
Back inside the false security
of her cabin, Daisy took a seat in a moldy-feeling armchair and drank
her soda, gripped by an undefined panic. There was nothing to do now
but wait. She rubbed her shivering arms. It was too early to call Lily. She
had to fix her eyes on something. Anything. Fear was a slippery incline.
She turned on the TV and wrapped her arms around her knees. She had brought
the smell of outside in, her molecules mingling with the heavy metals
of this polluted city.
2.
Ihe next
morning, Daisy woke up in a strange place and stared at the nautical
wallpaper a full minute before finally remembering where she was.
She was in the cheesiest motel in America. She assessed the ugly plaid
furniture, the novelty clamshell smoking a cigar on the dresser, the
plastic sign on the wall that insisted: enjoy our BEA- oo -TJHJL
pool! She struggled to sit up, all the muscles of her abdomen tightening
as if to ward off a blow. Anna's gone.
Anna's missing .
She checked her watch. Almost nine
o'clock. Time to go.
She hopped out of bed, got dressed
and called a cab.
Outside, she could feel a sweat
breaking out on her skin while the sun shone in all the sleepy crevices
of her face. A green and white taxi pulled up to the curb, and she gave
the driver the address of the police station, then took out her cell phone
and speed-dialed her mother's number. "Hi, Mom, it's me," she said.
"Daisy? Do the police know anything
yet?"
"I'm on my way there right
now." Fragments of light hit her eyes, the sun's reflection bouncing
off the sleek hoods and tinted windows of too many BMWs, Mercedes and Porsches.
"What's the weather like?"
Lily asked.
"Hot."
"Really? It snowed again last
night."
"I figured," Daisy said.
"How was your flight?"
"Bumpy. We fought the jet stream
the whole way. L.A.'s huge, Mom. So huge and impersonal. I don't know how
she lasted a month, let alone ten."
"You know Anna…"
"I've gotta go." She squinted into the bright sunshine. "Call you later,
okay?"
"Daisy?"
"Yes?"
"I want you to know how much I
appreciate this."
"It's okay, Mom. Love
you."
"Love you, too."
She put her cell phone away.
The closer they got to the beach,
the cooler it became, and Daisy started to see an abundance of T-shirt
shops, tattoo parlors and sidewalk cafes. There were people out jogging
and sightseeing. As they turned left onto Ocean Avenue, the glimmering
Pacific came into view, its rough surf kicking up sea spray beyond a
strip of sand. She was tempted to press her nose against the dirty glass as
they drove past bikini-clad Rollerbladers and
shirtless boys showing off their abs. She enjoyed the circuslike atmosphere
of the street musicians and fire-eaters competing with acrobats and
jugglers for tourist dollars. There was entertainment on every corner,
bold murals air-brushed onto the sides of buildings, boardwalk booths
selling everything from caricatures to knockoff designer sunglasses.
A pink-haired woman with a large snake draped over her shoulders rode
her bike dangerously close to the cab, smiled at Daisy and veered away.
After another mile of on-again,
off-again traffic, they drove further inland, away from the beach, then
pulled into an ugly minimall . "Here you
go," the cabdriver said, stopping the meter.
Daisy looked around. There was a
Thai take-out place, a funky shoe repair shop and a used car lot festooned
with lime-green plastic flags. Only the swaying palm trees broke the monotony
of the gritty, prefab landscape. "Where's the police station?"
she asked.
"That gray building over there."
She spotted the square gray stucco
building anchoring
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