Read Online The Seeker A Novel (R. B. Chesterton) by R. B. Chesterton - Free Book Online

depended on what mood they were in.
    “She seeks reasons to be angry. Then the anger justifies her bad behavior. I’m topping her list right now. I didn’t do anything wrong or dishonorable,” he added defensively.
    She clearly didn’t see it that way. I was unreasonably sensitive to her rage and frustration, and that troubled me. “Maybe we should go.”
    And so we did. Filbert’s was quieter, but by no means stuffy. White linen covered our table, where we ate the traditional fare of haddock and trimmings. Joe ordered a good bottle of crisp white wine, and we savored the meal and made small talk.
    When we were almost finished, I asked, “How did you and Karla meet?”
    “At a basketball game. I haven’t seen her around for months. I thought she’d left town.” Joe frowned. “I haven’t been to Boston in a while. I’ve had a lot to do at Walden.”
    “Dorothea said you’d returned to the area after an absence. Did you leave because of Karla?”
    He hesitated, looking down at his plate. “I came back to the Concord area because my mother was very ill. I’m an only child, and she needed care. There was an opening for a ranger at Walden, so I took it. Last spring, Mother died. Karla came along when I was adjusting to my mother’s death. We dated for several months before I ended it.”
    “I’m sorry about your mother, Joe. You must have been close.”
    “She never let me down. She believed in me. That’s an invaluable thing, Aine.”
    “Yes.” Granny Siobhan had always believed in me. “Was she sick for a long time?”
    “Cancer. She died by degrees.”
    My hand found his, a touch of sympathy. “That’s a hard thing. I’m sure you were a comfort and help. She was lucky to have you.”
    He withdrew his hand and looked out the window at the lights of the city. “On good days, I can pretend that was true.”
    “What do you mean?”
    He stood. “Excuse me a moment. I’ll be back.” He dodged through the tables toward the men’s room. There was some darkness in his past, and pain. Maybe one day he’d tell me.
    When he returned, he’d found his composure and a rueful smile. “So you came to Walden to finish your dissertation. And with your Ph.D., you’ll apply to teach? Around here?”
    “Getting the doctorate is the first step. I’ll worry about a job when I have the degree. I’m footloose and fancy-free. I can move anywhere there’s a good job.”
    “What about your family?”
    “Mostly dead. At least the ones I cared about. No one back in Kentucky is thinking I’ll come home.”
    “We’re on the loose, the two of us.” He offered his wine glass for a toast.
    After the clink, I asked “Why’d you break up with Karla?” It was a nosy question, but a fair one. Karla was furious. Maybe she had cause.
    “I really liked her. We had fun together.” He spun the golden wine in his glass. “One night I got a text from an old friend. A female. Karla must have been checking my cell phone. She just lost it. Went completely crazy, saying I was cheating on her. It was like she turned into someone I didn’t know. Someone frighteningly irrational and out of control. That’s when I realized she was abusing drugs. I confronted her and she said she’d stop. Later, she attacked me while I was asleep. Slugged me. Hard. That’s why you should steer clear of her.”
    I’d seen that kind of crazy behavior from people hopped up on meth or spice or any number of drug combinations. Once the addiction was set, they’d try any substance to relieve the need. “Do you really believe she’d come after me?”
    He reached for my hand and held it. His thumb moved across my knuckles, soothing, exciting my skin. “No. I don’t. But Karla isn’t a bear you want to bait. Stay away from her, and if you see her, go the other direction. Why risk a confrontation?”
    “Thanks.” The lightest anger simmered at the fact Joe had dragged Karla into even the fringes of my world. “I need a Karla in my life.