If I Knew You Were Going to Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go by Judy Chicurel

Author:Judy Chicurel
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

The Next Morning

Liz insisted we take the 7:27 bus; the few of our friends’ parents who worked in the city, including my father, took the 7:55 train that left from the same station, so we’d miss having to run into any of them. No one else we knew got up that early except the surfers and they’d be in the ocean, not at the bus station. She wanted to check into the motel and get her bearings before heading over to the doctor’s place. We had the address but no phone number; the doctor refused to speak to her clients on the phone. “We can pretend it’s like a vacation,” Liz said. I agreed, even though it wasn’t like we were going to Aruba or someplace. Silverwood was only about two hours away, one of the arty beach towns where painters and writers supposedly had summer places.

There was a thin streamer of gold against the sky as we walked out to the buses after buying our tickets. I paused for a minute to look at the sky, thinking, when you lived by the water, even the bus station could look beautiful in the early morning light.

“Well, well, look who’s here,” I heard, and turned to see Mitch, leaning on a trash dumpster while he tried to light a cigarette. He was wearing his military-issue sunglasses.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Liz whispered, panicked. “I thought he never left Comanche Street.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked Mitch. My voice sounded loud in my own ears.

He exhaled and began hobbling over to where we were standing. Away from Comanche Street, he looked taller, straighter, his cane making him seem more distinguished, even though the closer he got, you could smell the booze and sweat.

“Had a rough night,” he said, his voice sounding like crunched gravel. “Couldn’t get to sleep even after the bar closed; fucking birds were on the ledge outside, sounded like they were in the room, for chrissake. I’m due for a visit to the VA hospital to stock my meds and make sure I’m still alive, so instead of killing a whole damn day I’ll only kill a whole damn morning, can you dig it? At least the Goddamned train is air-conditioned. But the real question is, where are you two fine beauties off to at this time of the morning? And what’s with the funereal garb?”

Liz mumbled, “Later, man,” and began walking to the opposite end of the station, where the buses were parked.

“I better get going,” I said. “So we don’t miss the bus.”

I could feel Mitch’s eyes watching me behind his sunglasses. He scratched the stubble on his chin. Finally, he asked, “There something you want to tell me, baby doll?”

“Like what?” I asked innocently.

“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s why I asked. Everything all right with you and Sister Morphine over there?” He jerked his head in Liz’s direction. “Not like her to be so quiet.”

“No, we’re cool,” I said. “She’s just not into being up this early.

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