Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West

Author:Michael Lee West
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2011-12-01T17:44:44+00:00

Chapter 23

TEARS OF A HUNDRED LOVERS

All night the wind blew over Alabama as the tropical depression moved into the Gulf of Mexico. For several hours I had sensed a change in the barometric pressure, a prickling along my spine and static electricity in what remained of my hair. Inside, I felt just as volatile. One minute I wanted to fly over to Ireland, and the next I wanted to stay in Point Clear and set free a couple of Gucci handbags.

Up in my room, I opened the casement window. Night air stirred the gauzy curtains, carrying the scent of mock orange. I couldn’t see the bay, but I could hear waves smashing against the pier. Somewhere in the dark a storm was gathering strength. My thoughts drifted back to Ferg. I missed the way he’d push my hair out of my eyes and how he’d show up with a bottle of merlot and a cheese ball. I missed how he held me in the night. But I couldn’t allow myself to think about him. If Ferg didn’t want me, fine. The last thing I wanted was to end up like my parents.

I shut my eyes, imaging the bay tossing foam and shells and tiny blue minnows onto the sand, then sucking everything back again. I pressed my face against the feather mattress, the smells and sounds of water blowing around me. Just as I fell asleep, I thought I heard my mother whisper, I will always love you. I will always be with you.

When I woke up, it was dark outside. I heard rain ticking against the trees, a fine-grained sound like grits poured into a saucepan. I threw back the covers and slid out of bed. Then I bent over the trunk, peering inside. Near the bottom right-hand corner, wedged against the brittle paper lining, I pulled out a wrinkled page from the Pensacola newspaper.

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