Le Crime by Peter Steiner

Author:Peter Steiner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published: 2011-04-08T00:00:00+00:00

XVI

SARAH ANSWERED THE PHONE. THAT LOUIS KNEW HER VOICE IMMEDIATELY from her hello startled him. He had expected that she would sound different than he remembered, or that her voice would have changed. But it was as if he had never stopped hearing it, as if hardly any time had elapsed since their last conversation.

“Hello, Sarah. It’s Louis. Morgon,” he added.

“Louis,” she said after a moment’s pause. “My God.”

“I am in Washington. I don’t get here often.” She did not speak. “I’m sorry to surprise you with this call. I should have written first.”

She laughed uneasily. “You have a French accent. You actually have a French accent.”

“Not, unfortunately, when I speak French. How are you, Sarah?” He wished he hadn’t said her name.

“I’m doing well,” she said, her voice already sounding warier, cooler. “I moved to a new townhouse. I have an endowed chair at George Mason. I’m a full professor now.”

“I know,” he said, feeling the conversation already beginning to go sour. “I heard from the children, about your townhouse, about the promotion. Congratulations on all of it.”

“Collective congratulations.” Was her laugh angry? He couldn’t tell.

“Sarah, … I wonder how you would feel about meeting somewhere for a cup of coffee.”

“I don’t know how I would feel about it,” she answered. “Why?”

“I need to discuss something with you.”

“We can’t do it over the phone? All right. It’s so sudden and unexpected.”

“I should have written, Sarah. I’m sorry.”

They met at a coffee shop near his motel, which was also, as it turned out, not very far from her new townhouse. He stood to greet her as she came in the door. That way she would not have to search the room for him and then look startled when she found him. They shook hands. Sarah had become more beautiful. Her skin had wrinkles now, but the shape of her face had sharpened. Lines lay around her eyes and mouth and across her cheeks in such a way that her eyes appeared larger and more liquid, her nose finer, and her mouth and chin more delicate than they had been when her skin was smoother and fuller.

They talked uneasily about the children. Sarah didn’t see much of them, although all three of them lived around the city not far from one another. “They do not approve of me either,” she said with a tight laugh. “And, to be honest, I do not like being with them very much. Either of them. They seem old before their time. Do you intend to see them?”

“I don’t know,” said Louis.

“They support themselves and live their own lives. Jennifer talks about going back to school, but I doubt that she will do it. Michael’s illustration work is enough to keep him going. But, frankly, I don’t think he’s very good at it. His drawings seem overworked, tight, I think. But what do I know? He told me that you are a painter. He doesn’t approve. He seems to think you should be doing something more serious.

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.