Nightfall by Richard B. Wright

Author:Richard B. Wright
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Odette

They had parted with a final kiss and he had helped her into the taxi. It was a real kiss too and not just a peck on the cheek. A soulful kiss, she would say, a kiss she had enjoyed and would remember. As she walked up the steps to the front door, she could hear the music or the television and it seemed that every light in the house was burning. When she turned the key and opened the door, the blast of sound hit her. Throwing off her coat, she set about turning off the living and dining room lights, calling up the stairs to Celeste that she was home. All the light and noise was to be expected. Celeste could not go to bed when she was alone in a dark house. But now the television was turned off, and Odette went in to the kitchen, where on the counter she saw the opened jars of jam and peanut butter, a half-empty glass of milk. The kitchen clock said ten-thirty. A few minutes later Celeste appeared at the kitchen doorway, a tall, pale spectre in her nightgown and robe, her white hair falling to her shoulders; for a moment Odette thought she could have been looking at the ghost of her mother, dead now sixty years or more. “Celeste, you startled me.”

“You’re late, Odette.”

“Yes and I am sorry, but listen, I have some wonderful news.” Celeste was usually animated by good news but might not have heard, because she continued to stare at Odette. Of course, her hearing was no longer the best.

“I was worried,” said Celeste. “I thought something had happened to you.”

“Nothing happened to me. James and I were at a café on the Grande Allée. A beautiful summer evening and we talked and talked. Time got away from us. Now listen, tomorrow we are going to Île d’Orléans. James is going to rent a car so we won’t have to bother with a bus. I’m going to make a picnic lunch for us in the morning. Afterwards we’ll drive to Ste. Anne de Beaupré and visit the Basilica. You remember how much you enjoyed walking around the Basilica in the spring.”

Celeste nodded and then smiled. Herself again. “Yes, the big church. It’s very beautiful. A place for God’s miracles. All those canes and crutches that crippled people threw away when they began to walk again.”

“So tomorrow will be a busy day and we must get to bed.”

Celeste said suddenly, “I forgot to tell you. Monique called about Raoul. He’s in jail. The police picked him up for something. I can’t remember what now. But she and Bertrand were going to get him out. It was a while ago when she phoned. Maybe seven or eight o’clock.”

“Why was he at the police station? What did Raoul do?”

Again she felt those mixed feelings. Relief that he was no longer roaming the streets, but at the same time regret that he was in trouble again at his age.

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