I hadn’t planned what I would say to Thora. I find I can’t rehearse dramatic conversations; I can’t plan them. They just blind me in the moment, like a deer in the road. I imagined that some sort of confrontation would happen in the evening, around dinner time, and I would tell Eddie he couldn’t live with us anymore and ascertain whether or not they had been using protection and just sort of, well, sort of prohibit the whole thing. I am not very good at prohibiting things, but it seemed to me that this so required prohibition that I would be able to rise to the challenge.
So it surprised me to find Thora home. I had thought she would be gone with Megan all day. She was crying in the living room.
She looked up at me: “I thought you were gone.”
“I was at the dry cleaners,” I said. That was the one thing I felt sure of. That I shouldn’t tell anybody what I had done.
She stood up to go, but I sat down on the couch by where she had been and grabbed her hand.
“Why are you crying?” I asked.
“Shit,” she said and sat on the couch. She pulled her hand from mine and placed both her hands over her face. She had such short-fingered hands. Like John’s.
She heaved a great sigh and then said, though her hands, “Megan stood me up and it just feels shitty. She has a new boyfriend now so she’s always breaking dates. It’s a silly thing to cry over.”
“Darling,” I said, “You don’t have to lie to me. I saw Eddie come out of your room last night.”
So it surprised me to find Thora home. I had thought she would be gone with Megan all day. She was crying in the living room.
She looked up at me: “I thought you were gone.”
“I was at the dry cleaners,” I said. That was the one thing I felt sure of. That I shouldn’t tell anybody what I had done.
She stood up to go, but I sat down on the couch by where she had been and grabbed her hand.
“Why are you crying?” I asked.
“Shit,” she said and sat on the couch. She pulled her hand from mine and placed both her hands over her face. She had such short-fingered hands. Like John’s.
She heaved a great sigh and then said, though her hands, “Megan stood me up and it just feels shitty. She has a new boyfriend now so she’s always breaking dates. It’s a silly thing to cry over.”
“Darling,” I said, “You don’t have to lie to me. I saw Eddie come out of your room last night.”
Quicklinks for The Violin Face by Rufi Cole - First Entry | Latest Entry | Author Blog
Comments