Forever Yours by Daniel Glattauer & Jamie Bulloch

Author:Daniel Glattauer & Jamie Bulloch [Daniel Glattauer & Jamie Bulloch]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781782067849
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
Published: 2014-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

5

On her way home after work, in the twilight of a windy autumn evening, Judith was seized by fear and uncertainty. In the hallway, as she waited for the lift, she imagined she could hear a groaning from up above. In a panic she left the building, joined the flow of passers-by, called Lukas and, in between sobs, told him of Hannes’ supposed illness and his stay in hospital, which contradicted her gut feeling and the groaning in the stairwell.

He could be in Vienna in two hours. “No, Lukas, that’s not necessary,” she said. Yes, it was necessary. And nothing she said was going to stop him. All Judith had to do was get through the next couple of hours. A fresh attempt, bold and braced for anything, brought her almost to the front door. But then she turned and dashed towards the underground station where the lights were brighter. Even out on the street she felt uneasy. An ambulance siren scared her to death. Perhaps they were bringing Hannes to her place, or, worse still, away from there.

She jumped into a taxi, called her mother, said she happened to be in the vicinity and asked whether it was alright if she popped by. “You still alive then?” Mum said, and quickly followed with “Of course, child, you know you can come round any time you like.” Mum looked dreadful, like someone who’d just been ditched by Father on good terms, and it went without saying that she, the daughter, was to blame. As punishment Judith had to read out to her the leaflets detailing dosage instructions and side effects of the medicines she’d been prescribed to combat blindness, heart attack, grief and so on. And yet: there was no mention of Hannes. Judith kept looking at the clock at one-minute intervals. “Are you going so soon?” Mum asked. “Yes, I’m meeting Lukas,” Judith replied. “Lukas?” At last, open criticism in the form of a name. “Why Lukas?” “Why? Because he’s a friend and because one sees friends from time to time,” Judith said acerbically. “Lukas has a family!” “Mum, I’m not discussing this with you now,” Judith replied, jumping up and slamming the door behind her. For a few minutes she stood outside, conscious of the miserable state she was in, then she rang the doorbell again. Mum opened hesitantly, her eyes were swollen. Judith fell into her arms and apologised. “I’m not in a good way at the moment,” she said. “Yes, I know,” Mum replied. There was a short, oppressive pause. Judith: “How do you know?” “I can tell just by looking at you, my child,” Mum replied.

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.