Menagerie by E.Stuart Marlowe

Author:E.Stuart Marlowe [Marlowe, E.Stuart]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severed Press
Published: 2014-04-20T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

She clenched the pipe in her fist like it would blow away at any moment. The tears had dried on Liv’s face as she stared down at it, her eyes not quite focused. Gomer noticed signs of premature aging: a rounding of her upper back, enlarged joints at the ends of her fingers, lines carved into her forehead. It must have been a lifetime of too much sun and sea, for Liv was years younger than he or Sten. His mind tried to erase those signs, to imagine her with smooth skin, a straight spine and long, slender fingers, and he found the result far prettier yet less attractive, as if somehow the abuse by elements and time had made her more grounded and accessible.

Sten’s body returned to Norway where he was laid to rest by his only family member. Gomer attended the ceremony and Liv was grateful.

The other men had returned to the States with their recently acquired prize. The Ignis fluttered restively around its new home, a three-foot glass cube with an air filter on top. And while her naked female form was still alluring to men as an oddity, she posed no risk. The men were shattered, demoralized. Gomer offered them time off, though they all decided that submersing themselves in work around the park was a far better remedy to their grief.

Now he sat opposite Liv in the cluttered kitchen of Sten's house in Drammen. She set the pipe down and slid her fingers around the coffee mug resting before her.

"He didn't come back often," she said reflectively. "He'd be back for a week or two, then gone for months. I suppose he let things pile up around here."

Gomer surveyed the kitchen. Pots, pans, mail, books all piled upon one another haphazardly, creating a small mountain range along the countertop.

"He had a cat, but we had to give it away," she added. "He loved animals, though. He loved that cat."

"Yeah, I got to know Sten well. He'll be missed," Gomer acknowledged.

Liv paused, studying the reflection of the ceiling light in the surface of her coffee. With gravity in her words, she told him, "I have something I must show you."

Gomer looked up at her and shifted in his chair. He was ready for a long sleep, though he tried his best to hide his fatigue. For her sake.

"Something Sten hid here," she went on. "There's nobody else I can tell this to, except you."

He was now curious. "Like a diary?"

"No. Sten was open about most things, so no, he wasn't the sort who needed to write a diary. Most things..." Her voice trailed off.

"What then?"

"I'll have to show you. And please, do help if you can."

Liv let go of her cup and slowly rose from the table, turned towards the door and dropped her head as if in prayer.

"It's outside. Behind the house. Do you mind?"

"No, sure." He pushed his chair out as he stood.

She led him through the back door onto the grass yard. Although there were neighbors not far off, the yard was afforded complete privacy.

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