Relics of Life by Dorothy Robey

Author:Dorothy Robey [Anna, Dorothea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798218456634
Publisher: Dorothy Robey

Nineteen

At Fairview Park, Brody, a still-distraught Mary, and his daughter sat across from two men on a picnic bench. The shade of an oak tree kept the sun out of Brody’s eyes. The third day of May held a white sun in the cloudless blue sky, shedding unusual heat for that time of year.

The two men with him were clad in shabby shirts, pants, and worn shoes. He’d encountered them at the previous shelter in town before it had been shut down two months ago. They’d become friends in no time.

Brody asked, “What did you think of the new shelter announcement?”

“What does it matter?” Mary grimaced, leaning her elbows on the table and resting her forehead against her palms. “I can’t sleep with Noah gone anyway.”

Brody rubbed Mary’s back. No words could console her, so he kept silent and gathered her closer to him by draping an arm around her. He looked up at Russell, the younger of the two men. “What do you think?”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Russell said. At fifty-two years old, he was a couple of decades older than Brody.

Brody nodded. “Yeah, I get that.” His gaze fell on the police station kitty-corner to the park. “But I’m not convinced the shelter is going to be anything state-of-the-art. They never cared about us. Why would they start now?”

“Always been treated like we’re not human, as if we’re not the same as they are,” Walter said in his gravelly voice. He let out a smoker’s cough.

Russell patted his father on the shoulder. “Do you want to get some water from the fountain?”

Walter shook his head. “I’m fine.” He opened his mouth as if out of breath and wheezed. “It’s too damn hot already, and it ain’t even summer yet.”

Russell pressed his mouth into a firm line and narrowed his eyes at the police station. “If only there was a real shelter to help us.” He gestured toward Walter. “Help him. He needs a decent place to rest. Instead, we’re living in the alleys, sleeping with one of our eyes open, watching so we don’t get robbed or murdered. We’ve been lucky these past two years.”

Walter spewed a garbled hack. He sniffled while running the back of his hand under his bulbous nose.

“The government never passed a socialized healthcare program that my parents and most their generation had filled the streets and screamed for,” Russell said.

Brody folded his arms on the table. “Those in power don’t care about the average American citizens. And us? Even less. We’re nothing but a boil on their Botoxed, collagen-filled faces that needs to be lanced and tossed out.”

Lindy scrunched up her face, then tugged on Brody’s sleeve. “What’s a boil, Daddy?”

He flapped a hand toward her. “It doesn’t matter, honey.” He pointed at the swing set near them. “Why don’t you go play for a while? Just stay close by.”

She nodded, then headed toward the swings.

Walter snorted and wiped his nose again. “It’s a shame your daughter’s gotta live like this.

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