The Comfort of Secrets by Christine Nolfi

Author:Christine Nolfi [Nolfi, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542045711
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2017-07-18T04:00:00+00:00

Children and adults milled around the green spaces of Sweet Lake Circle.

The commotion caught his interest, and George slowed the car to a crawl. A Sunday bake sale was starting. Men were putting tables into place, end to end on the cobblestone walk. Bright-gold linens snapped down on the tables, which the women filled with home-baked treats. The scent of cinnamon drifted through the air, followed by the rich fragrance of freshly baked bread.

Last night’s whiskey still burnt in his belly. George pulled to the curb and got out.

An older woman with thick eyeglasses stood at the last table, the breeze tousling the tufts of white-and-auburn hair around her face. “Are you hungry? Only one dollar a slice. We’re taking additional donations if you’d like to help out the high school sports program.”

He appraised the pecan pie at her elbow. “Wish I could, ma’am.” The scent of the buttery crust made his mouth water. “I’m between jobs.”

“Oh, dear. That must be difficult. I hope you find work soon.”

“Thanks.” He took his time jingling the change in his pocket. “I’m all for good causes, but I’m not sure I should.”

The ploy sent pity trembling across her double chins. She took a hasty glance over her shoulder. Assured no one was nearby, she cut a big slice and handed over the paper plate. “My treat. Good luck with the job hunt.”

Thanking her, he ambled back to the Mustang. If he’d stuck around for another ten minutes, filling her head with a woeful tale invented on the fly, she would’ve handed over the whole pie.

Finishing the treat, he drove off toward Highland Avenue. The street where Sweet Lake’s wealthiest families lived immediately dulled his mood. It reminded him of how the long, humiliating slide in his life began when Julia up and left with his boy. Her leaving was a foul heap of bad luck he’d never scraped off.

They’d both worked good jobs in San Francisco, his at a Mercedes dealership and hers at Lux Jewels. Julia’s apartment was nothing like the roach-infested dives that came after. Back then, he got stoned too much and drank until his temper blazed. She should’ve been more patient, should’ve made allowances for the difference in their ages. Every time he beat her, he banged her good afterward, streaming sweat while he pleasured her, holding off his greedy spasm until she finished hers.

He was a man, after all, and knew how to gain forgiveness.

At first, Julia did forgive easily. Not so during their last year together, after he found her holed up in an apartment in Salt Lake City.

The memory of her response still ate at him, the way she’d lain there clawing the sheets. That last year, when their boy was a sullen kid in elementary school, she’d treated George like a stranger. Like he was taking advantage, and not her husband.

Flinging off the memory, George eased his foot from the gas. Three houses down, the white colonial stood like a king’s castle on a golf-course green.

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