The Winter Wives by Linden MacIntyre

Author:Linden MacIntyre [MacIntyre, Linden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House of Canada
Published: 2021-08-10T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

I saw Allan briefly in the morning. He was at his desk and Peggy brought us coffee. He was distracted, mostly silent. I was nervous, wondering what, if anything, he might suspect about the night before.

At last he asked,

–You looked at what I gave you?

He patted his chest, winked. The thumb drive.

–Not yet, I said.

–That’s okay. It’s just stuff.

He was speaking loudly, as though into a microphone.

–Stuff, I said.

–Don’t laugh, he said. He frowned, shook his head, a warning of some kind. Then he coughed into a paper towel. His face was flushed.

–We’re getting old, he said.

–We can’t help that.

–Getting old is the best-case scenario, my old man used to say. One thing I want to ask, and you can tell me it’s none of my business. But I’m curious.

–Fire away.

–You and Annie.

–What about us?

–How does that work?

–We live in different places. That’s all.

–Life should be so simple. You lucked out with Annie. I wish I’d known her sooner.

I laughed.

–Where are we going with this?

–Nowhere. But I’ll tell you straight up—if I could rewind the old odometer, you’d get a run for your money.

–What about Peggy?

He stared at me for a long moment, then nodded.

–You know more about Peggy than I do, he said.

–How can you say that?

–How can you say that, he mocked.

I stood.

–Annie’s waiting for me in her new Mercedes. That was a nice gesture.

He waved a hand.

–A small investment. You’ll be back soon, he said.

It was not a question.

He struggled to his feet, breathing heavily, leaning on the desk. Held out a hand. I reached across and grasped it and he pulled me toward him until his forehead was almost touching mine.

–Don’t be worried, he said.

–Okay, I said. I forced a smile.

–I’m just fuckin with their heads, he whispered.

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