Fogland Point by Doug Burgess

Author:Doug Burgess [Burgess, Doug]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781464210259
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: 2018-08-07T07:00:00+00:00

CONSTANCE

Emma was always the toughest. Even when we were kids. And the most passionate. The things she wanted, she wanted desperately. It’s a mistake, wanting anything too much. Because even after you get it, you’re terrified you’ll lose it again, and then in the end, of course you do. Your Aunt Irene, now, she’s different. Her mother used to say she came out of the womb laughing. I don’t know if that’s true, but Irene’s always been full up to burst with everything. She overflows. With what? Oh, you know: joy, happiness, life, all that crap. You know. You’ve spent enough time with her. Don’t tell her I said any of that.

But Emma—Emma was hollow. She was born wanting. I blame her father: Ephraim Godfrey was a nasty, prideful, greedy son of a bitch. The kind that would think he was doing you a favor by borrowing twenty bucks, then sneer at your ingratitude if you asked to be paid back. And Miriam Godfrey—Emma’s mother—was like a great big sponge that soaked up everything around it. They were a rotten pair, no question. It’s amazing, if you think of it, that Emma didn’t end up a monster.

I credit your Grandma. You don’t know what she was like then. I wish you did; she’s actually a lot like you. She was the first of us to wear slacks—no, I don’t mean it like that. I just mean she was ahead of her time. Everybody wanted to be like her, even me. And Emma. Emma was so dreadful at first. Such a big showoff. Everything had to be the newest, the shiniest, the most expensive. Well Maggie just knocked the stuffing right out of her. “Why, Emma,” she’d say, “that’s a lovely dress you’re wearing! Did you make it yourself? Oh, I see, is it from Woolworth’s? Cuz I saw the spitting image of it on the mannequin, marked down seventy-five percent. You take my advice and return that dress, go buy the cheaper one and a pair of shoes to go with.” And your Grandma just kept on smiling like a Buddha. Oh, Emma would steam!

A dress is one thing. A man is another. And Emma wasn’t a little girl anymore. She saw Teddy and she wanted him—and that was that. He had a reputation. I know Irene left that part out. Makes a better story. But he wasn’t some random lifeguard—we knew him. Hell, it’s Little Compton, of course we knew him. And even then, even before that day at the beach, we knew he was bad news. Told Emma so. But it’s like that necklace she brought back from Cuba. The man that sold it to her on the pier in Havana told her it was black pearls. She came off the boat waving it around, wore it every damn day. My father was an oysterman, and what I don’t know about pearls isn’t worth knowing. The necklace was paste. Not even a good imitation. But even after I

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.