The Sweetness of Salt(68)

“I’m going to go find some coffee,” Aiden said, nodding at me. “You want some?”

I shook my head.

“Dad?” he asked.

Jimmy nodded. “Cream only.”

“Back in a few,” Aiden said.

Jimmy pointed to a small space in the middle row between two sleeping people. I followed as he settled himself down, crossed his legs at the ankle, and stared at the TV. It was 5:20 a.m. An early morning show blared out a series of morbid headlines. Inflation was up, the stock market was down. The whole world as we knew it was burning, and none of it mattered because the only thing that was important was in the next room, a wall away.

“You knew about Goober?” I heard myself say. “With the custody and everything?”

Jimmy nodded. He did not take his eyes off the television.

“Why?” I asked softly. “Why would she do something like that?”

“She didn’t tell me.” Jimmy shrugged lightly. “And I didn’t ask.”

“Why not?”

“Some things aren’t ours to ask.”

I stared down at my feet.

“I don’t think she’ll go through with it, though,” Jimmy said.

“You don’t?”

Jimmy shook his head. “They haven’t signed the papers yet. I think this is a temporary thing while she’s been trying to figure some other things out.”

My heart pounded. I’d already leapt to the conclusion that it was a done deal. That I’d only get to see Goober on one of Sophie’s weekends. Which would probably be close to never. “Oh God, I hope so.”

On the television, a woman was crying. Her hair stuck up straight off her head and she was dressed in a pink housecoat. Behind her, the scene was a slate of water, punctuated with small, bobbing houses.

“God,” I said, looking away. “There’s just so much…awfulness in the world. Nobody gets a break, do they?”

“Nope.” Jimmy stared straight ahead, watching the woman as she continued to wail.

We both stared at the television screen as the camera panned to another view of destruction. The whole side of a house was gone, gutted like a fish. Inside, a large family portrait still hung on one of the remaining walls, and a living room lamp was upright in a corner. “People get through,” Jimmy said. “You don’t got much choice, really. You either get through or you get stuck. That’s about it.”

I looked over at him for a moment. Little white hairs stuck out from inside his ears, and the lobes were wide and fleshy. “Jimmy?”

“Huh?”


“What were you doing in church that day? With the rocks, I mean?”

He squinted, as if there was a glare on the TV. Then he said, “I put them out in front of the Blessed Virgin. It’s just a thing I do.”

“What’s it mean?”

He paused. “Did Aiden tell you about his mother?”

“Yes.”

He nodded. “It’s for her. Mostly. She liked them. Rocks and things. Whenever I see one, I pick it up. Usually, I make things out of them. It keeps me busy, now that I’m retired. But sometimes when I feel the need, I go into the church and sit down and try to listen for her.”

“For your wife?” I asked softly.

He shook his head. “For the Blessed Virgin.” He turned his head finally, and looked at me. “Don’t worry, I’m not some crazy old guy who hears voices.” I smiled. “But sometimes, when I wait, she comes. She does. I can feel her. And when that happens, I know Theresa is close by too. And that’s when I leave the stones.” He shrugged. “They’re sort of a thank you, I guess. And a hello too.”

I wasn’t sure if I understood.

But I knew that it was true.

I knew that it was good.

I slipped my hand inside his big rough one, and left it there.





chapter


52


Sophie’s injuries included a fractured femur, a shattered ankle, and extreme hypothermia. When a nurse finally came to retrieve us hours later, Sophie had already been moved to a room upstairs. Her leg, which had been set and cast, was propped up in a sling, and two IVs were dripping warm liquid into her arms. Someone thankfully had cleaned the mud out of her hair and wiped her face so she looked almost normal, even healthy, when we finally got a chance to see her.

I went over to her bed. Jimmy and Aiden hung back by the doorway.

“Sophie,” I whispered, hugging her tightly. She smelled like antiseptic. Her fingernails still had mud under them, and there was a tiny cut above her left eye. I straightened back up and turned around, beckoning the two men in, but Jimmy shook his head.

“Just wanted to lay eyes on you,” he said to Sophie, touching the brim of his cap. “You two take some time alone. We’ll be back in a while.”

Sophie gave him a grateful look and then blew him a kiss.

Aiden gave me a little nod and then disappeared down the hall.

I started to take a step back, when Sophie reached out suddenly with two fingers and pulled on the belt loop of my jeans. “Wait,” she whispered.

“What?”

“I want to tell you.” She closed her eyes. “About Maggie.”

I swallowed with enormous difficulty. “You don’t have to. It’s okay, Sophie. You don’t have to anymore.”