The Dead Republic by Roddy Doyle

Author:Roddy Doyle
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin USA, Inc.
Published: 2010-03-09T16:00:00+00:00

I woke.

The priest was beside me. He’d been given a chair with arms. There was a cup on his lap, and half a biscuit sitting on the saucer.

—There’s no doubt about it, he said.

—Howyeh, Father.

—The men of your generation are made of stronger stuff, he said.

I closed my eyes. He was gone when I opened them. The chair was gone too.

He came again, another day. I was sitting up, on the mend. Sore where I’d never felt pain. This time I saw the young nun deliver the chair, and I watched him let her drag it till it was right behind him, so he could sit back safely without breaking his arse. He didn’t thank or even look at her.

—You’re a brave man, he said.

—I was only walking down the fuckin’ street, Father, I told him. He looked at me, hard. He didn’t move, but he was shoving me back into my box. And I went; he was my boss.

—You’re a stoic, Henry, he said.

—Thank you, Father.

—You know what a stoic is.

—I do, yeah.

I wanted to go home.

—And it’s nice of you to call me one, I told him.

—You’ve read the papers.

—No.

—No?

—I’ve been sleeping a lot.

—Recuperating.

—That’s right, Father.

—Good man, he said.—You spoke to a little girl between your naps.

—She wasn’t that little, Father.

—She gave you a great write-up, he said.—All your deeds of derring-do.

I had to listen carefully. I’d been drugged to fuck - I suddenly knew it. I still was. I’d been knocking back every pill they’d given me.

—There are people outside who can’t wait to meet you, he said.

I wanted to drift - I didn’t want to face this. What was he telling me?

—Friends, he said.

—Old friends? I asked.

—New friends.

I didn’t want to meet the old friends, even though the times had changed and nobody wanted me dead - except the fuckers who’d planted the bomb. That was something I suddenly realised: I hadn’t thought about them at all. Not since I’d been lifted into the ambulance.

New friends.

What had I told her? Everything - I thought I had. My entire life and times.

I had to be careful.

—Did I say anything I shouldn’t have, Father?

—Nothing substantial, he said.—There was mention of a married woman who helped you hide from the foe.

—Annie.

—That’s right. And a piano.

—Sorry.

—She was off the page for the late edition.

—Who managed that?

—Your new friends.

—Why?

—You’re a hero, Henry. But you’re tired. I’ll leave you to it.

He stood.

—One thing, Father.

—Go on.

—It’s a blunt question.

—The right ones often are, he said.

He fuckin’ loved himself.

I looked straight at him.

—Do you think I’ll be shot when I leave here?

He looked at me.

—No, he said.—Why would you be?

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.