Mr. Good Enough by Jamie Farrell

Author:Jamie Farrell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jamie Farrell
Published: 2014-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

LINDA STARED at the butterflies on the rough texture of the wall, soaking in the noises of the house. The hum of the refrigerator. The uneven thumping of the ceiling fan. The visitors.

They whispered, but she heard them. She’d even started to listen.

The doctor thought she was doing well. Linda sniffed to herself. Showed what she knew. Linda stayed only because she didn’t feel like leaving. Not because she was doing well.

The neighbors were nosy. They came by to offer to help. More like they wanted to see firsthand how bad off she was. She knew how this town worked. She’d always known.

But Ruby kept on being Ruby. Kept on acting as though nothing were wrong. Kept on pushing Linda to eat, to drink, to take her medicine, to get out of bed. To live. And all the while she kept butting into everybody else’s business.

She was in the kitchen now, clanking a spoon here, setting down a plate or something there, softly humming to herself. Time for tea, she’d told the doctor’s daughter. More like she got tired of the girl’s attitude and used Linda as an excuse to make her go away with that awful animal she’d called the pound for yesterday afternoon.

The floor creaked out in the hallway. A shadow passed across the wall and stopped. “Aren’t you getting old to be playing God with the people here?” Linda said.

“Giving ’em choices ain’t playing God.”

Ruby’s skirt swished. Linda didn’t look. She didn’t want to. She knew what she’d see. Ruby set on making her better. On feeding her more crap toast and lukewarm herbal tea that tasted like dirt. Watching her, seeing through her, but not once giving a hint that she remembered how they’d been. Pretending it never happened.

If Linda cared enough to get angry, she would’ve.

“Sit on up,” Ruby said. “If you don’t eat, the doc’ll send you to the hospital.”

Linda knew what Ruby was doing, but she couldn’t quite keep the shiver in. “You wouldn’t let her.”

“Not me, hon. Trent wouldn’t let her. Eat.”

A plate slid onto her lap, and Ruby tucked a fork into her hands. Utensils. This was new. “You’re wasting your time.”

The bed sagged. Linda squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to see Ruby. Didn’t want to touch her. Didn’t want to feel.

“You’ve never been a waste of my time,” Ruby said.

Linda shivered again. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She wasn’t supposed to be here. “I meant him. He’s gonna disappoint you. Fail you. Fail your family. It’s what he does.”

The bed creaked, and Ruby’s presence drifted away. “Then why’s he still here?”

To hurt me.

Ruby wouldn’t believe it. She’d never believed it. Always said there was more to a story than what people on the outside saw. Look at Andi, that’s what she always said.

“Go on and eat now,” Ruby said.

Linda didn’t want to eat. She wanted to fling the plate across the room. She wanted a cigarette. She wanted her baby back.

But Ruby could never understand, and Linda couldn’t

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.