Read Online The Wally Lamb Fiction Collection: The Hour I First Believed, I Know This Much is True, We Are Water, and Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Wally Lamb
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magic wand and fix her fucked-up life. And if you
think
you can, you better put a check on your ego before she body-checks it the way she did mine.”
“That was terrible, the way she treated you,” she said. “But she’s reaching out to me, Cae. I can’t just write her off. The
last
thing that kid needs is more rejection.”
“I’m going to grab a shower,” I said. It was either leave the room immediately or risk telling her about Velvet’s come-on for no better reason than because I was pissed about her innocence of what I’d protected her from.
I was toweling off when Mo entered the bathroom. She put her arms around me and rested her forehead against my chest. “I need a friend,” she said. I lifted her face to mine. Kissed her. Kissed her harder.
We made it over to the bed. I lay there, watching her undress. She got in and pulled the covers over us. Snuggled beside me. Kissed my shoulder, my mouth. Ran her fingers across my chest, my belly. “Suck me,” I said.
She looked at me, puzzled, then repositioned herself to oblige.
I was impatient with her gentle preliminaries. “Come on,” I said.
“Do
it!” She pulled away. Got off the bed. Grabbed her clothes and started for the door. “Hey,” I said. “Where you going?”
Her back to me, she said it over her shoulder. “I’m your wife, Caleum. Not your whore.”
“Fuck this,” I said. Reached down and started jerking myself off. I mean, I had to get release from somewhere. Sophie was on the side of the bed, watching me. “Get out of here!” I screamed. “Get the fuck—” I whacked her with a pillow and she fled.
After I’d ejaculated the anger out of me, I lay there with my puddle of regret. I’d apologize later, I told myself, but for now … I grabbeda magazine, got through a paragraph or two of some article that held no interest, and let my fatigue rescue me….
----
MO WOKE ME OUT OF a sound sleep. She was seated beside me on the bed. “I’m so sorry, Caelum,” she said.
“No,
I’m
sorry,” I said. “I was being a total asshole. You had every right to—” She was shaking her head.
“Ulysses just called. He stopped in to get his paycheck this morning and found Lolly out in the yard near the clothesline. She was talking incoherently. Trying to put her socks on her hands.”
“What …”
“He got her back inside and called nine-one-one. I think she’s had a stroke.”
chapter three
FIGURING IT WAS BETTER IF they talked with someone who could speak “medical,” I had Maureen call the hospital. She tried twice but couldn’t get past “Louella’s resting comfortably” and “Someone from the medical team will be calling” and “Can you verify that her insurance provider is Blue Cross/Blue Shield?” And goddamnit, by the time the medical team
did
call, Mo’d gone out.
“Mr. Quirk? This is Dan, one of the nurses over at Shanley Memorial.” Over at? Three Rivers was two time zones away. “I’ve been caring for your mother today and—”
“She’s my aunt,” I said.
A pause, a shuffling of paperwork. “But you’re her next of kin, right?”
“Yes. Why? Did she …”
“Oh, no, no. She’s hanging in there, Mr. Quirk. Dr. Salazar will be speaking to you in just a few minutes about her test results. But first, I wonder if you could answer some questions for us about Louella’s medical profile.”
“Yeah, well, the thing is, my wife’s a nurse, so she’s more on top of Lolly’s medical stuff. I can have her call you back.”
Dan said he was going off-shift soon. Whatever I could help him with. “Okay,” I said.
No, I wasn’t sure what medications she was taking. No, I didn’tknow which medical practice she’d switched to after Dr. Oliver died. (I hadn’t known he’d died.) Surgeries? None that I could recall. Yes, she smoked: one Marlboro a day, after her evening meal; she’d done that for years. No, she wasn’t much of a drinker. A beer every now and then. Brandy on special
think
you can, you better put a check on your ego before she body-checks it the way she did mine.”
“That was terrible, the way she treated you,” she said. “But she’s reaching out to me, Cae. I can’t just write her off. The
last
thing that kid needs is more rejection.”
“I’m going to grab a shower,” I said. It was either leave the room immediately or risk telling her about Velvet’s come-on for no better reason than because I was pissed about her innocence of what I’d protected her from.
I was toweling off when Mo entered the bathroom. She put her arms around me and rested her forehead against my chest. “I need a friend,” she said. I lifted her face to mine. Kissed her. Kissed her harder.
We made it over to the bed. I lay there, watching her undress. She got in and pulled the covers over us. Snuggled beside me. Kissed my shoulder, my mouth. Ran her fingers across my chest, my belly. “Suck me,” I said.
She looked at me, puzzled, then repositioned herself to oblige.
I was impatient with her gentle preliminaries. “Come on,” I said.
“Do
it!” She pulled away. Got off the bed. Grabbed her clothes and started for the door. “Hey,” I said. “Where you going?”
Her back to me, she said it over her shoulder. “I’m your wife, Caleum. Not your whore.”
“Fuck this,” I said. Reached down and started jerking myself off. I mean, I had to get release from somewhere. Sophie was on the side of the bed, watching me. “Get out of here!” I screamed. “Get the fuck—” I whacked her with a pillow and she fled.
After I’d ejaculated the anger out of me, I lay there with my puddle of regret. I’d apologize later, I told myself, but for now … I grabbeda magazine, got through a paragraph or two of some article that held no interest, and let my fatigue rescue me….
----
MO WOKE ME OUT OF a sound sleep. She was seated beside me on the bed. “I’m so sorry, Caelum,” she said.
“No,
I’m
sorry,” I said. “I was being a total asshole. You had every right to—” She was shaking her head.
“Ulysses just called. He stopped in to get his paycheck this morning and found Lolly out in the yard near the clothesline. She was talking incoherently. Trying to put her socks on her hands.”
“What …”
“He got her back inside and called nine-one-one. I think she’s had a stroke.”
chapter three
FIGURING IT WAS BETTER IF they talked with someone who could speak “medical,” I had Maureen call the hospital. She tried twice but couldn’t get past “Louella’s resting comfortably” and “Someone from the medical team will be calling” and “Can you verify that her insurance provider is Blue Cross/Blue Shield?” And goddamnit, by the time the medical team
did
call, Mo’d gone out.
“Mr. Quirk? This is Dan, one of the nurses over at Shanley Memorial.” Over at? Three Rivers was two time zones away. “I’ve been caring for your mother today and—”
“She’s my aunt,” I said.
A pause, a shuffling of paperwork. “But you’re her next of kin, right?”
“Yes. Why? Did she …”
“Oh, no, no. She’s hanging in there, Mr. Quirk. Dr. Salazar will be speaking to you in just a few minutes about her test results. But first, I wonder if you could answer some questions for us about Louella’s medical profile.”
“Yeah, well, the thing is, my wife’s a nurse, so she’s more on top of Lolly’s medical stuff. I can have her call you back.”
Dan said he was going off-shift soon. Whatever I could help him with. “Okay,” I said.
No, I wasn’t sure what medications she was taking. No, I didn’tknow which medical practice she’d switched to after Dr. Oliver died. (I hadn’t known he’d died.) Surgeries? None that I could recall. Yes, she smoked: one Marlboro a day, after her evening meal; she’d done that for years. No, she wasn’t much of a drinker. A beer every now and then. Brandy on special
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