Chat Read Online Free PDF Page A

genuine relief and a sense that this was one conversation he just didn’t have the stamina to maintain. One reminder at a time of the price of loss seemed ample.
    “Hi,” he muttered stupidly.
    “Are they all right?” she repeated.
    “They’re alive,” he finally managed. “Leo looks the worse for wear, but he’s conscious. Mom is just asleep.”
    “Asleep?”
    “That’s what I call it. They’re not saying ‘coma’ yet, but that’s probably just for me. Maybe it’s a kind of twilight until things become clear.”
    There was a long pause, followed by “My God, Joe. I am so sorry.”
    “Me, too.”
    “Do you know what happened?”
    “Not yet. All Leo told me was that it was the car, so maybe the brakes went out, or something in the steering. I’ll look into that later.”
    He could almost hear her thinking, examining the angles. Gail was a lawyer, a legislator, someone with ambition who knew how to organize things. After ending her relationship with Joe, she’d moved altogether from Brattleboro to Montpelier, the state capital, so she could fully concentrate on her new political career. If Joe were to bet on it, she had the governorship in her sights.
    “What are your plans?” she asked.
    “I’m on leave until I get a handle on this.”
    “Would you like some company?”
    He had a split second to respond correctly, and almost inevitably chose poorly. “It would mean a lot to them.”
    Her comeback drove home his error. “I know that’s not true for you, too, but I won’t get in your way. I promise. I would just like it if you said it was okay,” she said. “I feel so awful about this.”
    He scratched his forehead, thinking a rap with his knuckles might have been more appropriate. “Gail, you’d never be in the way. They both love you, and I could do with the help. I’d really appreciate whatever time you can spare.”
    “You’re sure?”
    “Absolutely. I’ll clear it with the hospital, too, in case they have rules or something about visitors.”
    Her voice was soft, almost tearful, in response. “Thank you, Joe. I’ll be down as soon as I clear a couple of things up here. Give them my love.”
    Despite his fumbled comeback to her offer, it remained true that Gail’s presence would be helpful, even if painful. He hadn’t been the one to end what they’d shared, but it had certainly been his profession, in large part, that had precipitated her decision. He’d been a cop for enough decades to have made a few enemies, and survived enough bullets, knives, and explosions to understand anyone’s desire to gain a little distance from him. But he did miss her, and having her nearby again was going to be tough.
    He rose and stood before the window, looking down on the snow-dusted trees that circled the hospital.
    It would allow him to be practical, though, and perhaps a little self-preserving. Leo was in good hands, and their mom was out of reach, at least for the time being. There wasn’t much of a role for him here. Gail’s arrival would guarantee that someone he could trust was nearby while he did what he could to find out what had happened.
    He didn’t actually suspect much, of course. He was acting more from professional paranoia, or perhaps habit born of witnessing bad things. But it would keep him busy, and perhaps on the edge of the double emotional tar pits represented by Gail and his family’s plight.
Besides, there was always the nagging possibility that this had been more than a simple car accident.

littledk: Marvel’s really better at selling incredibly random merchandise
kay: Yeah. They sell Marvel perfume
littledk : ...WHAT
littledk: see, DC should really get on this. I’m sure they have better-smelling superheroes
kay: Hee. Yes. Exactly.
kay: I mean. Do *you* want to smell like the Hulk?
littledk: ewwww
littledk: clearly they need to make Hal Jordan perfume
kay: Clearly!
kay: Drives the ladies NUTS!
littledk : Warning: May Cause Spontaneous Subconscious Puberty.
kay: