The Pursuit of Other Interests: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

the table by the bay windows, his hands folded on his lap, she stopped dead in her tracks and glanced at the clock on the wall, then back at Charlie. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
    “Nothing.” He gave her a slight wave, then folded his hands back together. He had risen early with the intention of making a healthy breakfast for himself but had gotten sidetracked into staring out at the yard. “I was going to make coffee,” he vaguely said.
    Donna put the paper and cup down on the island. “It’s eight o’clock. I thought you were out of town.” She set about making the coffee.
    “No, I’m here.”
    “Did you sleep here last night?”
    “I slept in the other room, the guest room. I got home late, I didn’t want to wake you.”
    Donna shook her head. “Well, if you were in town, it would have been nice if you could have made the school open house for once. It was last night. It might have been nice for his teachers to see that Kyle actually has a father. I waited for you. For an hour. You never called. I assumed you had gone out of town.”
    Charlie looked over at her and swallowed. He had, of course, forgotten about the open house. “I was busy. I’m sorry,” he softly said.
    “Busy.” She unfolded the paper with a snap.
    He looked down at the floor, then rubbed a hand over his face. He now regretted not leaving the house at his normal time. He could have avoided all of this.
    He cleared his throat, then attempted to change the subject. “Are you going to that place today? That community place?” He was referring to a center for disabled people where she volunteered. He had little to no idea what she did there, where it was, or even the name of it, but he knew she went there.
    “Yes, I’m going to that place, that community place.” Her voice was flat, completely void of emotion or inflection. “That community place, by the way, whose annual report you said you would help write.”
    He cringed. Another land mine. “Annual report,” Charlie repeated. He remembered making that offer a few months back after he had missed the grand opening of a new wing, or new room, or new something there. “I’m sorry,” he said again.
    “Wow, you’re sorry a lot.”
    “Listen, I don’t want to fight right now. I have a lot going on. So can you please quit with the attacks? I mean, I’m just sitting here.”
    Donna shook her head again, picked up a section of the paper, poured herself some coffee, and walked out. A few seconds later, Kyle, tall but stoop-shouldered, slunk into the room.
    “Hi,” Charlie said.
    Kyle jumped. “What are you doing here?” he asked in a still-wobbly sixteen-year-old voice.
    Charlie gave him a tight smile. “Good morning.”
    Kyle stared at him. “What?”
    “I said good morning.”
    “Oh, yeah.”
    Charlie finally stood up and walked over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. “It looks like it’s going to be warm today.” He had no idea what the weather was going to be like, but he thought this was normal family banter and he suddenly needed to have normal family banter.
    Kyle nodded, then opened the refrigerator. It had been a while since Charlie had seen him in daylight, or really any light, and his condition concerned him. He was wearing baggy gray sweatpants that hung low over his rear and a black Chicago Bulls T-shirt so tight Charlie was sure he couldn’t exhale. His dark hair was shaggy and much too long.
    “How’s school going?”
    “What?”
    “School, how’s it going?”
    “Oh. Good.” Kyle poured himself some orange juice, drank it in one gulp, then disappeared into the adjacent mudroom and out the back door.
    “Have a good day!” Charlie called after him as the door slammed shut.
    Charlie walked back to the table and resumed staring out the window. It was a sunny day, the brightness an insult to his dark and increasingly desperate mood. He was feeling very disconnected, very isolated.
    He sipped some coffee and studied the