Sister Jane by Irmgarde Brown

Author:Irmgarde Brown [Brown, Irmgarde]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SereyJones Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2021-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

30

Friday in the Fourth Week of Lent, Twomey

In his disposable gloves and booties, he drank a glass of water, no ice, while Vasquez sipped on a green drink.

“How is it?” Twomey asked.

“Because of your efforts, I would like to commend you, but I must be truthful, it’s not exactly what I had hoped for.”

“I could try again.“

Vasquez held up his hand in refusal. The hand shook and he brought it back to the settee arm. An open book sat beside him, but Twomey seriously doubted the man could read anymore.

“Sorry about the door. Looks like they came right away?”

“Yes.”

“I brought your mail up, but I didn’t see a food delivery today,” he said.

“There’s not much point, is there?”

“I never marked you as a fatalist.”

“You barely know me,” Vasquez said. “I speculate you may be reconnoitering for a story anyway. I suppose I could invite you to write my obituary.”

“Human interest stories are not my strength, but I am curious about you. I did some research. You have quite a reputation as an artist.”

“Had a reputation.”

“How did you end up in Lafayette of all places? People don’t usually move from New York City to beautiful downtown Lafayette.”

“Would you please get me a glass of pure water from the bar over there?”

Twomey obliged and said nothing, letting Vasquez decide if he wanted to talk. They were amiably quiet for some time. Twomey fell into a different version of himself around sick people and death beds: his basketball team, his mother, his cousin Andy, and his beloved dog. And then, all the wounded guys who died in his arms in the rice paddies, all shot from afar and shot without warning. All of them had brought out a subdued version of Wade Twomey, a grieving witness formed as a teenager when he wrecked that car and destroyed the lives of four families. That younger self who sat by each bed and watched his friends die, one by one.

“Travelling was always hard for me,” Vasquez said at last. “Lots of precautions and preparations. But I had a friend, a former lover, who had an art show here and I wanted to attend. It was folly to travel in the winter. And I suffered for it; I had a severe relapse and ended up in the local hospital. Long story short, I decided to end it here.”

“How long ago?”

“Longer than I expected, obviously.”

“And your friend?”

“He died a couple of years ago. He was probably the one who exposed me to the virus that took me down that year. Doesn’t matter. Most people assume I am dead already. I will accommodate them soon enough.”

Vasquez took a sip of water and leaned his head back.

“Tell me the gossip from across the street,” he said, his eyes still closed.

“Well, yesterday, Sister Jane had her first reality check when a woman assaulted her because the healing didn’t work. But the Sister refused to press charges. An ambulance came and Jane resisted going to the hospital, but to no avail, her fan base insisted.

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.