Nights Below Station Street by Richards David Adams

Author:Richards, David Adams [Richards, David Adams]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Published: 1988-12-17T05:00:00+00:00

Rita went out that night with Myhrra and didn’t get home until three in the morning. When she got into the house, and Myhrra honked her horn as she drove away, Adele was sitting on the stairs with a bowl of ice cream, listening to the wind and, with her housecoat and knitted slippers on, looking like she was dressed in a tea cozy.

“I suppose Dad and Milly are going to freeze their holes out tonight,” Adele said, licking the back of the spoon. Rita put down her black purse, and rummaged in the drawer for a package of cigarettes.

“Do you have a cigarette, Delly – I’m out.”

“How do you know if I smoke or not?” Adele asked. Then from under her armpit she hauled a package of Cameos.

“They’ll be alright,” Rita said. “Joe could go into the woods with a blanket and a bag of flour and last all winter.”

“Well, it seems to me that some people don’t care if their wonderful little Milly lies tits up in the woods.”

“You’ve been in the woods with Joe and you got out alright.”

“That’s because I do the worrying in this goddamn family,” Adele said, crying suddenly, and she set her bowl on the step and walked upstairs, with the padded bottom of her slippers pouncing on the floor. Just then a huge gale came up, a tree made a loud crack, and her little slippers padded silently away. When she got to the bathroom she suddenly felt sick and threw up, waving her hands frantically to keep Rita away from her.

“And I want to tell you about some of the people – some of them are sleazy, sleazy people, Mom – and you are going out booten around with that Gloria Basterache.”

Rita came to the top of the stairs, and with her hand on the banister she spoke, and Adele put her hands over her ears.

“I don’t care about her,” Rita said. “She’s Myhrra’s friend.” Rita’s hand on the banister looked white in the light of the hall. Joe’s red sweater lay over a chair in the hallway. “I don’t have a lot in common with Gloria Basterache.”

“You do so!” Adele screeched. “You and Gloria Basterache.”

“I don’t care about her,” Rita said. “Don’t get me angry.”

“Well, I don’t like her – and who I don’t like is no good – so you just remember that,” Adele screeched. “I worry all night and then I get sick to my stomach and it’s the same all over again. As long as you go work for people they will make a hump of fun about you. And they don’t like Joe and make fun of his stuttering attacks, and I heard that Gloria was just the one to make some fun of his stutter. How could you go out with anyone who makes fun of his stutter!” She said suddenly breaking into tears again. “And Myhrra is just led along by the nose as always. She’s been hanging about a little too much with all those useless people!” Then her door slammed.

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