The Drowning House: A Novel by Elizabeth Black

Author:Elizabeth Black
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Literary, Contemporary Women, Family Life, Fiction
ISBN: 9780385535878
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Over time and as his means permitted, he expanded his holdings. At his death, he possessed a residence of rare comforts, among them a French chandelier and the first piano west of the San Pedro River.

It was his habit to turn his head when speaking to give his right eye the advantage, because his left orb had from birth a tendency to wander. Perhaps for this reason, he was not inclined to the pleasures of society, but kept to his home and family.

There was no photo of Will’s grandfather.

I heard the sound of conversation, then a pause, and Will approaching. Was he going downstairs? Away? Would he pass by without saying anything? He put his head in the door. “I promised you a drink. Would you like to join us for a few minutes? Only if you want to, of course.”

I closed the book and followed him. In the hallway, the walls were lined with more photos. I realized that there was nothing in the house—no painting, no photograph—that wasn’t in some way related to the family. Nothing that might be, for a child growing up there, a window into any other world.

Mary Liz was smoking a cigarette in a long, black holder. “Come in, come in,” she said waving it so that a thin contrail of smoke drifted above her. She was on a chaise, her wasted legs, as always, covered. “Sit, will you, I dislike people looking down at me.” She gestured toward a sofa filled with pillows. “I understand you’re interested in old things. Damned if I am.” She laughed harshly. “Never expected I’d be one myself. Animal has an accident like mine, you put it down.”

Faline came in carrying a tray with a chilled bottle, a variety of glasses, and a bowl of ice. “Nobody around here feels sorry for you. Not one bit.” She set the things out. “Now, you got everything you want? You think I might go and see to my husband?”

“Don’t let her fool you,” Mary Liz said. “She doesn’t have to be here, fetching and carrying. She could have made something of herself. She had three semesters at the College of the Mainland.” Mary Liz looked at Faline appraisingly. “Now it’s too late. She’s getting to be an old woman. Cords in her neck.” She reached for the loose skin under her own chin and laughed again, a raucous sound that shook her chest and shoulders and then became a cough.

“All right,” Faline said, “I’m leaving now. You going to have to survive without me until tomorrow.”

“We’ll be fine,” Will said. “Thank you.”

I moved a few of the pillows, trying to make room for myself on the edge of the sofa.

“So here you are,” said Mary Liz. “Without the camera, for once. And here I am, the captive audience. Well, are you going to pour her a drink or not? And me, while you’re at it.” She raised her glass toward Will and rattled the ice. Her thin, iron-colored hair stood up from her head, as though it had been freshly coiffed.

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