Read Online Things Unsaid: A Novel by Diana Y. Paul - Free Book Online Page B

jumped away from the table. Until there was nothing but piss-colored water with little pimple-size lumps. But even then he kept retching. And he never forgot—or entirely forgave Andrew for what he’d done.
    As the only son of a doctor, Andrew had exalted status. Some medical field would have to be his career “choice.” The arguments for this were constant and repetitive.
    “You know, your sisters will marry well, to a good provider, and raise a family,” his father always said. “That’s all they have to do. Like your mother. But you—I expect lots more from you.”
    And Andrew didn’t want to disappoint.
    “Well, you just remember—there are expectations you have to live up to. Your father is an important man in this city. Everyone knows me. Now, if my father had been more than a farmer, I probably would have followed in his footsteps. But I had other dreams … to be much more. A success. To have the life that only money can buy. And, of course”—this part seemed like an afterthought to Andrew—“a good wife and mother, and three wonderful kids.”
    That wasn’t quite believable to Andrew’s ears. He wanted to believe it. But his father just looked sad.
    How Andrew envied his sisters. They didn’t have to worry about what their father thought of them. They wouldn’t need to work. Their husbands would do all the heavy lifting. He wished sometimes that he had been born a girl—with a pink bow in his hair. He knew Jules wanted to have a profession. It wasn’t typically female, but she had been like that since kindergarten. Studying famous women in history, winning academic awards, even the National Latin Society, whatever that was. She should just relax. She would have it easy. Like their mother. But Andrew—he had to prove he was worthy.
    “No son of mine is going into something so worthless, to say nothing of mindless,” his father would say of race car driving and motorcycle competitions. “Racing cars and driving motorcycles are for ne’er-do-wells. Do you want to make me proud or not?”
    He
would
make his father proud of him. And, much to his surprise, he had begun to love studying the intricacies of the cardiovascular system. For the first time, he’d started to feel respected, aglow withmedical jargon about this or that ventricular cavity and arterial defect. That was the way to his father’s heart. Dissecting animals helped reinforce learning about anatomy, too. He always aced biology exams. He had a collection in their attic: translucent, pinkish fetal forms with veiny, glossy legs splayed, strapped, and nailed to a board. Cats, dogs, birds, even a squirrel. He liked the squirrel tailbones best. Fine, delicate, easily broken.

    After the car accident, Andrew had spent the summer lifeguarding at the country club pool, wanting to save money just like his dad. That was the summer before he was sent away to George Washington Military Academy. His parents had talked to the board members, promising that he would follow the rules. No big deal, until Woolworth’s.
    “Can’t Buy Me Love.” The song was number one on the charts, and his friends wanted to get the single. Andrew had had his name on the waiting list for weeks but still hadn’t gotten his copy. He volunteered to go buy the record for them.
    He walked into Woolworth’s and nonchalantly wandered over to the right side of the store, where the Top Ten Hits section was located, and started flipping alphabetically through the singles in their paper sleeves, looking over his shoulder. Rows and rows of records, and yet only one of the singles he was looking for was left. On the envelope, clear and bold, was the warning: “Display Copy Only. Do Not Remove.”
    He looked around, down the aisles. The store was packed. Probably because it was so hot and the air-conditioning was on full blast. Everyone hung out at the mall on blistering July days like this one. But he didn’t see anyone working the floor. He bent way over the row of