Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

Author:Liza Klaussmann [Klaussmann, Liza]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-385-67749-3
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Published: 2012-07-16T16:00:00+00:00

Helena opened her eyes. For a moment, she thought she was alone.

The room felt so empty. Her palms itched, the soles of her feet itched, she ached. Her pillow was wet through. Had she been crying? Then she smelled cigarette smoke. It made her sick. And she could hear snuffling somewhere behind her.

“Yes, I found him. It was all so sordid, he was shacked up with some tramp in a rat hole in town. You should have seen his face when he opened the door. So goddamn smug, like he was expecting me.” Helena held her breath. The Bitch was talking about Avery. She had to listen very carefully, she couldn’t fall asleep again.

“Hughes, we have to sell the cottage. No, we can’t afford it. He named his price and I accepted. There was nothing to be done for it. She can live off the rest. We’ll still have to pay for the hospital and for Ed’s school.”

Helena felt a peace coming over her; Avery had gotten the money. Now he would come back for her. It was all going to be all right.

“Well, what else can we do? Don’t you think I feel sick about it? I could kill him. The worst is that he got what he wanted in the end. And don’t even get me started on that vile Fox man. The money from my father’s cottage is going straight into his pocket. Remember all that ‘collection’ business? Well, you should have seen all the junk in their house, like a sad little garage sale. Like some goddamn shrine. It was disgusting.”

She was snuffling again.

“I hate myself for abandoning her to him.”

The Bitch and all her pious self-pity, as if she wouldn’t have chewed Helena up and spit her out a long time ago, if it weren’t for Avery.

“Did you make the arrangements? Yes, and what did Dr. Monty say? Hughes, I know Dr. Monty’s an idiot, but he’s our idiot. At least she’ll be in a decent, respectable institution where she can get some help, until she’s strong enough.”

What was she up to now? Avery wouldn’t let them take her away. She mustn’t get upset.

“Well, we can talk about it when I get home. What did the school say? Oh, for heaven’s sakes. It’s just boy antics. You’re too hard on him. Yes, you are. The poor boy was waiting and waiting for someone to pick him up for the holiday and no one came. It’s enough to make anyone want to cause a little trouble.”

Ed, her baby. She was talking about Ed. What holiday? The school holiday. Something about a plane ticket. A plane ticket for Ed. To come home. Was it Thanksgiving already? Oh, she had failed again. How could she be so stupid? But Ed had been cruel to her. He had abandoned her. He had. But it wasn’t his fault. He was her child and she had failed him. It was because of what he had seen. The dead girl. No, that wasn’t right.

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