Cast in Stone Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: G. M. Ford
beautiful kid, twenty-two years old, God love him, who's
undergoing chemotherapy, who may well never live to see
twenty-three." She rubbed her temples, going on. "His hair
is falling out in clumps. He's a splotchy light yellow color most of
the time from all the chemicals. It takes him three days to get up
and around after each treatment, and what happens?" I shrugged.
"Out
of the blue, it's like suddenly this little beautiful creature
just can't live without him. And does anybody but me be find that
strange? No way. Makes complete sense to them. Those two were just
like the rest of you. They just blandly assumed it was Nicky's charm.
Men always assume it's their charm. It's what makes them so damn
easy."
I
ignored the jibe.
"What
else?" I prodded.
"The
age thing. I mean she looked great, perfect little petite figure and
all, no cellulite, not a ripple, not so much as a vaccination mark,
but there was no way she was the twenty-six she claimed to be. Women
can sense things like that. Heck wouldn't listen to me, but as I'm
sitting here, she was no twenty-six. You couldn't see the lines
because of that tan, but she'd had the work done, I know it. I've
seen it before in my friends. Everything was just a bit too tight.
You could have bounced quarters off her cheeks."
"Anything
else?"
"The
stories. This goes along with the age thing. You wouldn't believe the
stories. At first, I thought she was just eager to please—you know,
trying to make an impression—but it never let up. To hear her talk
she'd been everywhere and done everything—model, advertising exec,
aerobics instructor, river guide, travel agent, butcher, baker,
candlestick maker. Leo, I swear to you, you'd have to be eighty years
old to have had all the experiences she claimed. Yet"—she
waved a finger again—"not one verifiable detail. Not one thing
you could check. Only child. Parents killed in a plane crash. Raised
by a rich aunt. Supposedly from Wisconsin. It went on and on."
"And
nobody but you noticed?"
"She
charmed the socks off both of them. They were pathetic. Nicky was so
in love she could have had horns and he wouldn't have noticed."
"And
Heck?"
"Heck
was just so relieved to see Nicky happy again." She shook her
head sadly, anticipating my next question. "I had to either shut
up or become the enemy. I shut up. I figured, given a little time,
they'd see through her. God knows she was transparent enough."
"What
did—" I began. She interrupted me.
"If
I'd had any idea they were getting married, I'd have kept at it. I'd
have set new records for bitchery. I wouldn't have cared what either
of them thought of me. I'd have kept at it until they paid
attention."
"The
marriage was a surprise, then?"
She
clicked her tongue.
"They
were supposedly just going to Vegas for the weekend." "Came
back married."
She
nodded. "That bitch had it planned all the way. I told Heck the
day they left that they'd come back married."
"How
did you know?"
"I
just knew."
"And
then?"
"And
then what in the hell was I going to do? My only son was married.
What was I going to do? I had to at least seem supportive, didn't I?"
"So
they came back married. What then?"
"The
honeymoon. They began to plan the honeymoon. We offered to buy
them a Hawaiian honeymoon, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, you name
it, we
offered
it. Oh no. They already had their minds made up."
I
could sense we were coming to the end now.
"They'd,
or rather she had, decided to lease a yacht for a month.
Fifty-some-odd feet—just restored—a beautiful thing. They were
going to cruise down to Baja and back. It was her idea. She said that
would save Nicky the embarrassment of the public beaches, what with
his hair and all the splotches. Just the two of them, you know. She
was always so very thoughtful."
"So?"
"So,
they left on a Thursday morning, a month ago next Thursday. Heck and
I went down to Magnolia and saw them off. Champagne across the bow,
the whole bit."
She
heaved a massive sigh. "Friday
undergoing chemotherapy, who may well never live to see
twenty-three." She rubbed her temples, going on. "His hair
is falling out in clumps. He's a splotchy light yellow color most of
the time from all the chemicals. It takes him three days to get up
and around after each treatment, and what happens?" I shrugged.
"Out
of the blue, it's like suddenly this little beautiful creature
just can't live without him. And does anybody but me be find that
strange? No way. Makes complete sense to them. Those two were just
like the rest of you. They just blandly assumed it was Nicky's charm.
Men always assume it's their charm. It's what makes them so damn
easy."
I
ignored the jibe.
"What
else?" I prodded.
"The
age thing. I mean she looked great, perfect little petite figure and
all, no cellulite, not a ripple, not so much as a vaccination mark,
but there was no way she was the twenty-six she claimed to be. Women
can sense things like that. Heck wouldn't listen to me, but as I'm
sitting here, she was no twenty-six. You couldn't see the lines
because of that tan, but she'd had the work done, I know it. I've
seen it before in my friends. Everything was just a bit too tight.
You could have bounced quarters off her cheeks."
"Anything
else?"
"The
stories. This goes along with the age thing. You wouldn't believe the
stories. At first, I thought she was just eager to please—you know,
trying to make an impression—but it never let up. To hear her talk
she'd been everywhere and done everything—model, advertising exec,
aerobics instructor, river guide, travel agent, butcher, baker,
candlestick maker. Leo, I swear to you, you'd have to be eighty years
old to have had all the experiences she claimed. Yet"—she
waved a finger again—"not one verifiable detail. Not one thing
you could check. Only child. Parents killed in a plane crash. Raised
by a rich aunt. Supposedly from Wisconsin. It went on and on."
"And
nobody but you noticed?"
"She
charmed the socks off both of them. They were pathetic. Nicky was so
in love she could have had horns and he wouldn't have noticed."
"And
Heck?"
"Heck
was just so relieved to see Nicky happy again." She shook her
head sadly, anticipating my next question. "I had to either shut
up or become the enemy. I shut up. I figured, given a little time,
they'd see through her. God knows she was transparent enough."
"What
did—" I began. She interrupted me.
"If
I'd had any idea they were getting married, I'd have kept at it. I'd
have set new records for bitchery. I wouldn't have cared what either
of them thought of me. I'd have kept at it until they paid
attention."
"The
marriage was a surprise, then?"
She
clicked her tongue.
"They
were supposedly just going to Vegas for the weekend." "Came
back married."
She
nodded. "That bitch had it planned all the way. I told Heck the
day they left that they'd come back married."
"How
did you know?"
"I
just knew."
"And
then?"
"And
then what in the hell was I going to do? My only son was married.
What was I going to do? I had to at least seem supportive, didn't I?"
"So
they came back married. What then?"
"The
honeymoon. They began to plan the honeymoon. We offered to buy
them a Hawaiian honeymoon, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, you name
it, we
offered
it. Oh no. They already had their minds made up."
I
could sense we were coming to the end now.
"They'd,
or rather she had, decided to lease a yacht for a month.
Fifty-some-odd feet—just restored—a beautiful thing. They were
going to cruise down to Baja and back. It was her idea. She said that
would save Nicky the embarrassment of the public beaches, what with
his hair and all the splotches. Just the two of them, you know. She
was always so very thoughtful."
"So?"
"So,
they left on a Thursday morning, a month ago next Thursday. Heck and
I went down to Magnolia and saw them off. Champagne across the bow,
the whole bit."
She
heaved a massive sigh. "Friday