Chapter 2

2: 2

"Lucy!"

Walter's face changed in an instant. Without a thought he swept her up into his arms.

He turned toward the bedroom, and as he passed me he threw out one line:

"Look at what you've done!"

"Bang—"

The bedroom door slammed shut behind him.

I stood outside it and knocked.

Nothing.

Walter kept the key to the guest room himself, always had.

Wind poured in off the balcony, cold enough to make me shiver.

I walked over to the couch and sat down.

Lucy's perfume still clung to the cushions, so sweet it turned bitter.

Now and then their voices drifted out of the bedroom.

I pulled my knees up and curled into the couch, eyes open, and sat there until morning.

At eight the door was knocked on.

I pushed myself up on legs gone numb and went to open it.

Owen Henson and Penelope Henson stood outside, both faces full of worry.

The moment Penelope saw it was me, her expression dropped.

"Miriam, where's Lucy? How is she?"

Owen's brows were knotted, and the first thing out of his mouth was an accusation:

"You're supposed to be Lucy's best friend. How could you do a thing like this? If Walter hadn't called, we'd still have no idea!"

"Lucy's heart has never been strong. Three years ago she nearly didn't make it. Why can't you give a little? Why do you have to fight her over everything?"

My hand gripped the doorframe. I didn't even have the strength left to explain.

It was Lucy who had come to me in tears back then, begging to borrow my boyfriend to fulfill a dying wish.

I nodded. I gave up the man I loved.

How had it all become my fault in the end?

"Move!"

Owen shoved past me, impatient.

I lost my footing and hit the wall with my back, hard enough that my bones ached.

They stepped over me and went straight into the bedroom.

"My poor girl, are you all right? You scared your mother half to death..."

"Dad, Mom, why did you come all this way? I'm fine. Don't blame Miri, she didn't mean it..."

"Foolish child, still defending her!"

Walter's voice was folded in among theirs, gentle as he soothed the two of them, dropping a joke here and there to keep them smiling.

The four of them talked and laughed, easy as a real family.

And I stood in my own marital home like an outsider who didn't belong.

Before long Walter came out of the bedroom.

Seeing me still standing there, he frowned.

"What are you standing around for? Go pour a few cups of warm water. It's not easy for Lucy's parents to come all this way."

He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, the way you'd order the maid.

I didn't argue. I turned and went to the kitchen.

Cup after cup, I carried them in, three refills in all.

Every time I went in, they were talking about Lucy's condition. Not one of them glanced at me.

After the last refill I turned to go.

Walter fished a key out of his pocket and tossed it at my feet.

"Go wait in your room. Stop wandering around out here and setting off her parents."

As he spoke he was busy peeling grapes for Lucy, not even lifting his head.

I looked down at the key on the floor and bent to pick it up.

I said nothing. I turned and walked out.

At noon the Hensons left.

Walter told them to be careful on the road, promised again and again that he'd take good care of Lucy.

In the end he even went down himself to see them off.

The front door closed. The footsteps faded.

The master bedroom door stayed shut. Lucy didn't come out.

I pushed open the door and took one last look at the guest room I'd lived in for three years.

How absurd.

The marital home I once decorated with my own hands, and now all I got was one pitiful corner of it.

The ache in my chest kept surging up, and I couldn't stop it.

I pulled open my suitcase and started stuffing clothes into it.

Halfway through, a heavy thud came from the living room.

My heart lurched. I dropped the clothes and ran out.

In the living room, Lucy lay on the rug in front of the couch.

One hand clutched her chest, and she was gasping, dragging in air.

The TV on the wall was on.

On the screen, a frantic motorcycle racing game.

The roar of the engines was deafening.

My chest tightened, and I spun to go get her medicine from the bedroom.

Just then Walter came back from seeing off the Hensons and saw Lucy on the floor at a glance.

His face changed in an instant. He rushed over in a few strides and shoved me aside without a thought.

"Miriam, have you lost your mind?!"

"You know Lucy's heart is bad, that she can't take any shock, and you still put something like this on for her to watch? Are you trying to kill her?"