Garoul 2 - Ambereye by Gill McKnight

Author:Gill McKnight
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-04-25T13:21:57.045551+00:00

chApter FiFteen

For most Garouls, Thanksgiving ended with an early evening.

Jolie, Hope, and Andre had a last-minute strategy session to confirm they had everything more than covered. Through his profuse guilt at being the creator of evil misinformation and cruel conjecture, Jolie suckered Andre into doing loads more than he’d originally intended. But accepting for once that Jolie had the moral high ground, he complied with only the merest bitching. Satisfied with the re-jigged schedule, they retired to their respective cabins.

“Where’s Paulie? He out late?” Hope asked as they returned home. Jolie had a good idea exactly where Paulie was—out patrolling the valley with her father as wolven. And she couldn’t help but envy him the simple pleasure. She hoped that after the meetings were over she, too, would have a little time to stretch her claws.

“Oh, he’ll be back. We’ll leave the door unlocked for him.”

“Okay.” Hope took Tadpole out for his evening toilette. He still refused to explore more than five yards from the steps. On a brave day he made it as far as the tree line, but mostly he snuffled around the porch, raising his whiskery snout every so often to give a concerned sniff at the breeze blowing in from the forest. Hope was convinced he was feeling poorly even though he still ate like a small pony and had fallen in love with the ham bone she had brought back from dinner as promised.

Jolie got ready for bed while Hope saw to Tadpole’s supper.

She was loitering awkwardly in the bedroom in her large T-shirt and sweatpants when Hope returned.

• 131 •

Gill mcKniGht

“Can you put Taddy into his bed while I get ready?” Hope asked, grabbing her nightwear and disappearing into the small bathroom.

Tadpole and Jolie swapped an evil-eyed look.

v

Her face was washed, her teeth brushed. Now came the part she was still coming to terms with. Taking a deep breath, Hope popped her prosthetic eye and rinsed it under the tap, removing the day’s dirt.

She examined her face in the mirror dispassionately. It wasn’t too bad.

Lord knew there were people out there with worse disfigurements.

She should be grateful. Her fingers manipulated her upper and lower eyelids as she examined the empty socket. The flesh was healthy, red and vibrant. Just another part of the inside that not many people get to see. She knew she was one of the lucky ones. It could have been a whole lot worse.

“So, where do we go from here?” she asked her reflection. It seemed she was slowly getting over the initial shock of her prognosis and the operation. Life went on and she had moved with it. She was managing at home and in work; she had kept up her friendships and her social interests. She’d done everything right according to the hospital’s recuperation handouts. But she was still only partway there. She looked at the empty socket.

“I’ve got more than one void still to fill.” With a sigh, she popped her eye back into the socket.

Her confidence was slowly being restored, thanks to her friends.

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