Wireman sat perfectly still at the table,...
Wireman sat perfectly still at the table, watching
meOutside, the surf hammered
"What kind of stove do you have, Miss Cookie?"
"GasGet the picture and throw it in the oven
Then close the door and turn the oven on
"No, Daddy!" Wide awake again, as shocked as when
I'd said fuck, if not more so"I love that
picture!"
"I know, honey, but it's the picture that's making
you feel the way you do I started to say
something else, then stoppedIf it was the sketch
- and it was, of course it was - then I wouldn't
need coco chanel black wallet to hammer it homeShe'd know as well as I
didInstead of speaking I throttled the faucet
back and forth, wishing with all my heart it was
the bitch-hag's throat
"Daddy! Do you really think-"
"I don't think, I knowGet the picture, IlseI'm
going to hold the phoneGet it and stick it in
the oven and burn it
There was a clunk as the phone went down
Wireman said, "Is she doing it?"
Before I could reply, there was a snapIt was
followed by a spout of cold water that drenched me
to the elbowI looked at the faucet in my gucci bag black hand,
then at the ragged place where it had broken off
I dropped it in the sinkWater was spouting from
the stump
"I think she is," I said He dropped to his knees, opened the
cupboard beneath the sink, reached in past the
wastebasket and the stash of garbage bagsHe
turned something, and the gusher spouting from the
broken faucet started to die"You don't know your
own strength, muchacho
"Sorry," I said againMy palm was
bleeding from a shallow cut, but I felt betterIt occurred to me that once upon a time,
that prada bags sales faucet could have been my wife's neckNo
wonder she had divorced me
We sat in the kitchen and waitedThe second hand
on the clock above the stove made one very slow
trip around the dial, started anotherThe water
898
coming from the broken faucet was down to a bare
rivuletThen, very faintly, I heard Ilse, calling:
"I'm backI-" Then she screamed
I couldn't tell if it was surprise, pain, or both"Ilse!"
Wireman stood up fast, bumping his hip against the
side of the sinkHe raised his open hands to me
I shook my chanel clutch head - Don't knowNow I could feel
sweat running down my cheeks, although the kitchen
wasn't particularly warm
I was wondering what to do next - who to call -
when Ilse came back on the phoneShe sounded
exhaustedShe also sounded like herselfFinally
like herself"Jesus Christ in the morning," she
said
"What happened?" I had to restrain myself from
shouting"Illy, what happened?"
"It's goneIt caught fire and burnedI watched
it through the windowIt's nothing but ashesI
have to get a Band-Aid on the back of my hand, replica rolex Da
[ 11:23 ] [ 2010-Mar-3 ]