Race Across the Sky A Novel by Derek Sherman

Author:Derek Sherman
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780452299061
Publisher: Plume
Published: 2013-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

11

• • • • • • • • • • • •

“Did you know,” Mack asked her, “that Caleb offered me a deal?”

June rubbed her eyes. She had not slept well.

She had lain still and watched her baby awaken. Lily was thin, and small, but whenever she woke, Lily’s face assumed a blend of wonder and confidence; try as she might, June could not recognize herself in it. She had recently grown a singular bottom tooth of astonishing bone white. But Caleb was right. Her breathing was no better.

She was beginning to crawl, but when she got more than a foot away her eyes would narrow with strain, her wheeze would grow higher pitched, and inevitably one of their housemates would snatch her up and place her where she had intended to go. And she was deprived of the opportunity to reach it herself. It would be like having someone lift you up at eighty miles and carry you to the finish line, June thought. It wasn’t right.

Downstairs at breakfast, Ryan rolled Lily a balled white sock. A mischievous smile overtook her face, as she dragged herself forward, made it, squeezed the sock between small fingers, and brought it to her lips.

“Don’t stress, it’s clean. I only wore it three times.”

June started laughing.

The door to Mack’s room opened, and he walked out yawning. Mack was only five feet five, which always took her by surprise; whenever he came into a room, her first instinct was to look up, and she would have to adjust. This morning he wore a red Marlboro sweatshirt and black running shorts, his shaggy black beard bunched in varying directions. He walked over to Lily, a bemused smile on his face. He knelt by her, watching her play. Then he looked up, smiling.

“How’s the day looking, Ms. June?”

“Great. I’m cleaning three apartments by Dushanbe. Do you want me to pick up anything?”

“Sencha would be great.” Mack sat down beside Lily. “How is she?”

“It was a rough night actually.”

Mack put his hand up the back of Lily’s oversized yellow Goodwill shirt, flattened his palm on her back, and shut his eyes. “Teddy Roosevelt was born with severe asthma. Couldn’t walk without wheezing. His father made him hike up hills for miles, and they didn’t have trail shoes then either. He went from a sickly child to a bulked up motherfucker. The kinetic energy turned his body on. He was wrestling broncos and charging up hills before long.” He paused, watching her. That was when he asked about the deal.

June squinted. “I don’t know about any deal.”

“I figured he had your approval?”

“Caleb didn’t tell me anything like that.”

“I’m going into town. Why don’t you ride with me? We’ll talk about it in the car.”

• • • • • • •

The Jeep moved evenly through the snowpack. To her north, June watched Lone Eagle rise behind the sun. Somewhere out there, she knew, there were people moving along its trails.

“I’m going to Fadden’s,” Mack said. “You need anything for Lily? A rattle? One of those ladybugs?”

“Sure,” June smiled.

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