Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20A | 20B | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25-26 | 27 | 28-29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35-36 | 37 | 38A | 38B | 38C | 38D | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42-43 | 44-45 | 46 | 47 | 48-49A | 49B | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57A | 57B | 58-59| 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68-69 | 70A | 70B | 71A | 71B | 72 | 73 | 74A | 74B | 75 | 76-77A | 77B | 78 | 79 | 80
PART III
GLADYS
81
TREY DROPPED ONTO his divan, exhausted. He was driving himself harder than he ever had because he wanted to forget, he wanted not to hope, he wanted …
He wanted Marina.
He wanted her happy, to make her happy, and she couldn’t be happy without cringing all the time, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She’d been trained to feel nothing. Dot was the only happiness she’d been allowed and even then, not completely. Then Dot had turned on Marina the second she married Trey.
He groaned at the knock on his office door. “Come in.”
“Telegram.”
That was unusual, but Trey was too exhausted to think about it. “Turn on the light and give it here. There’s a fiver in the desk, top right.”
“Thanks, Mr. Dunham!”
Shoot, Trey didn’t even care if the cat took a ten.
He tore open the envelope.
MAKE DOT WRITE
That was all. It was from his grandmother.
Trey’s brow wrinkled. It had been a month and a half since he’d taken Marina to St. Louis and Dot hadn’t written? Surely that couldn’t be true.
He heaved himself off the divan and trudged upstairs. He shook Gio awake as quietly as he could so as not to disturb Ida, and pulled him out into the hall.
“Look at this,” he demanded.
Gio, grumpy and yawning and rubbing his eyes, took it, blinked, blinked again, and pulled it closer to his face. “What the hell,” he whispered.
“Yeah, that’s what I’d like to know. Get dressed. You’re coming with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“Albrights’.”
Gio opened his mouth to protest that he wasn’t allowed on the Albrights’ property without explicit permission, but took one look at Trey’s face and did what he was told.
It was six a.m. when Trey banged on the front door. “Albright!”
Quickly enough, it opened to Albright himself, dressed in overalls, work boots, and heavy overcoat, his doctor’s bag in his hand.
“What the hell!” he barked.
“Look at this,” Trey barked back, handing him the telegram.
Albright’s mouth tightened and he gave it back. “That’s Dot’s business. I’m not getting in the middle of it. And you—” He pointed at Gio. “—are not supposed to be here.”
“He’s my boss,” Gio said apologetically.
“Lemme talk to your wife.”
“LIZ!” Albright roared, then turned back to them. “Move! I’ve got a pack of sick border collies to tend.”
Sister Albright scurried to the hall while Albright brushed past them to go to his truck with ALBRIGHT VETERINARY stamped on the doors.
“What is going on?” she demanded.
For the third time, Trey presented the telegram and said, “Look at this.”
Sister Albright’s brow wrinkled. “Uh … why … we had been getting regular letters from her, but … ”
“I want to talk to Dot. Right now.”
“She’s asleep.”
“I do not give a good goddamn.”
She bristled. “Now, listen, you foul-mouthed hooligan. You keep your mouth clean in this house. Do you know what I see? I see a little girl whose best friend deserted her without a word. Just picked up one night, got on a train, and went to see people she doesn’t really know for who knows how long. Dot’s cried herself to sleep as much over that as she has over—” She waved a hand at Gio and glared at him.
“Did it occur to anybody here that Marina had no choice? I’m her husband. I say what she does and does not do.”
“You allow Marina to do exactly what she pleases.”
“Not this time,” he snapped back. “I promised her I wouldn’t talk about our private business, but I’mma break that promise. This is why I packed her up and took her to St. Louis.”
Sister Albright’s mouth slowly dropped open and her eyes widened as Trey ranted. He could feel Gio’s horrified stare.
Sister Albright’s trembling hand went to her chest. “Oh, goodness,” she whispered, stricken. “Oh, my goodness gracious. Come in, come in. Both of you. Oh, dear. Oh, dear.” She led the way into the house and pointed them to the parlor, scurrying to the back and running up the stairs, shouting, “Dorothy Anne Albright!”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Gio demanded.
“What good would it have done?” Trey snapped. “You think I’m proud of it? God, I wish Albright were here so he could get his bullwhip after me. I’d stand there and take it, too.”
Gio said nothing, but presently they heard, “WHAT?!” and then running feet. Soon there was Dot, standing in the threshold of the parlor in a long nightgown, her chest heaving. “She—”
“If she was writing to you but you didn’t write back, she must not have told you why. You didn’t even write to ask why?”
“I—” she squeaked, her bottom lip trembling.
“Not sure she would’ve told you,” he grumbled.
Her eyes glittered and her cheeks glistened. “I’m sorry,” she mewled, clutching the telegram to her chest. “I’m so sorry.”
Trey’s throat bobbed, suddenly thoroughly in sympathy with Dot. “Look, Dot, we got our problems, you and me, but between us, we’ve got her tipping into a grave. We gotta work together to get her out. She don’t wanna hear from me. My grandparents tell me to leave well enough alone when they see fit to say anything to me at all. I do not know how she’s doing because they don’t tell me anything. But could you write to her and … I don’t know. Gossip or whatever it is you do. Just don’t let it out you know why she’s there. Although, at this point, I don’t know if she cares.”
Dot winced and began to cry in earnest and she glanced at Gio, who pursed his lips and shook his head. “Don’t look at me.”
“Gio!”
“I’m disappointed. That’s not the Dot I know. Or want.”
“Gio,” Sister Albright said firmly.
“I’m not going to say I’m sorry. I didn’t know any of this, but ever since they got married, Dot’s made sure Marina knows how angry and jealous she is even though it wasn’t Marina’s fault. I haven’t said anything, but I don’t like it. Her loyalty disappears the second her feelings get a little hurt. So I wonder if she’s going to do that to me too one day.”
Sister Albright didn’t reply, but Dot broke out into ugly bawls. “Oh, it’s true!” she wailed. “I’m such an awful friend!”
Trey and Sister Albright rolled their eyes at the same time.
“A’ight,” Trey said, heading toward the door, Gio following. “We got that settled?”
Dot threw herself at Trey and sobbed into his shoulder. He sighed and patted her back and rubbed it while she cried for forgiveness. “A’ight, a’ight,” he said testily. “You and me are in this together. We’ll get through it. Somehow.”
He and Gio returned to the speak to find two of his hired guns waiting for him, twisting their caps in their hands. “What,” Trey barked.
“There wa’n’t nobody to meet us at the quay, Boss,” one muttered. “We waited. Nobody showed.”
Trey thought he was hearing things. “Are you saying you don’t have my heroin?”
“No,” said the other one. “I mean, yeah, that’s what we’re saying. No boat, no men, no trucks, no … nothin’. No ideas, either.”
Trey’s jaw ground as he considered the possibility one of these lugs had hijacked his shipment, but Trey paid well and in the four years they’d been working for Trey, they had never given him any reason to suspect they might not be on the up’n’up.
Then again, somebody loyal to Trey had drugged Marina, so he wasn’t going to assume much.
What to do, what to do.
“A’ight,” he growled with a wave of his hand. “G’on outta here now. Keep your ear to the sidewalk and see if you can’t rustle up some names. Start with Seamus Byrne.”
81
If you don’t want to wait 2 years to get to the end, you can buy it here.
Donations can be made here, if you so desire.
I’d stand there and take it
Got some masochistic tendencies there eh?
No, just enough self-awareness to know when he deserves an ass-whoopin’.
I say what she does and does not do.
Didn’t he tell her to not go to the Speak?
Start with Seamus Byrne
I don’t remember him. Is he new or is my memory slipping?
At the very beginning. It’s been a year and a half. There are consequences to serialization. 😬
Trey has reverted back to his old speech patterns. He needs Marina, Marina needs Dot, Dot needs Gio.
Wedding Bells have broken up the whole gang.
I’m getting a little suspect of Albright though. Him and his damned animal tranquilizers
Thanks Moj, things are getting curiouser and curiouser Another week to wait…
Have faith! I write romance. 😜
I don’t know the conventions of the genre, so I go pessimistic.
ooo… gang fight coming up?
🤔
I’d settle for a cat fight.
Here ya go.
Interesting chapter Moj. It just further reminds me the Age/2 +7 rule of thumb exists for a reason.
The rule of thumb that says men should always date younger women after they’re 14?
Does it also apply to women dating men younger than them?
Ask the Macrons.
Macron is married to Brigitte Trogneux, 24 years his senior,[and his former La Providence high school teacher in Amiens.[They met during a theatre workshop that she was giving when he was a 15-year-old student and she was a 39-year-old teacher.
That’s a fairly rare combination, since men tend to chase youth rather than compatibility, but good on them for finding each other.
That retarded formula above would have had me trying to date women a couple decades younger than me about the time I met Mrs. Prole. Turns you it ain’t enough to date eye candy, you actually have to be able to enjoy talking to your date, if you want to have a good life together. 😉
So very much this!
Rip Col Tigh
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Carter
Nice run
I’m hanging out at the ER again. What a thrill for me! 🙄
SpO2 went to 84% and I was getting dizzy so I called an Uber to get me to the hospital.
Nebulizer seems to have done the trick. But now they’ve done EKG, urine sample. I guess they’re doing blood next. Just trying to see if I’m allergic to the antibiotics I guess.
Hope to get out soon.
Hope you’re OK!
This too shall pass!
Hopefully it’s nothing or just an allergic reaction.
Seems to be a fairly random asthma attack. They took some blood and have me ion a saline drip to compensate for the augmentin side effects.
Feel better
Thanks
Well, they’re going to admit me to the hospital.
Faaaaack.
Probably a wise precaution under the circumstances, but I hope all goes well and they spring you ASAP! 🙁
Oh no good luck!
Sorry, HE.
Hope you feel better.
Best wishes
Morning, Glibs.
Sorry to hear about the new medical troubles HE. Hope the admittance turns out to just be an abundance of caution on their part.
Good morning, U!
… and rhy!
How goes?
Very well, thanks! Got my first mug of chai latte. Today, however, is the milk’s Last Official Day of Goodness, so I may have to be prudent and settle for regular coffee tomorrow morning.
How about you?
I’ve been up all night, and am trying to figure out if there’s a holiday I missed, because there were a crapload of extra cars on the road during my commute yesterday afternoon
Huh. No holiday I’m aware of at the end of April. I hope they’re not amassing for some sort of midweek May Day observance – and not in the modern “May Day” sense.
Hope not.
Orthodox Easter is May 5, so this week is Orthodox Palm Sunday.
…and I hope your all-nighter was by choice and not due to insomnia. Either way, hope there’s a nice nap in your near future.
I was playing video games.
😁👍🎮
Milk in coffee?? :-p
No – milk in chai latte today, non-dairy creamer in coffee tomorrow (when the remaining milk undergoes HAZMAT disposal.)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/avian-flu-has-spread-to-cows-milk-and-experts-worry-human-outbreak-could-be-next/ar-AA1nEOUs
Oh, swell. Luckily, we don’t use that much milk – just for my weekend lattes, mainly. (Hence the difficulty using it up before its drop-dead date.)
***SIGH!!!*** Now we’ll have even more of those damn almond milk commercials. 😒
suh’ fam
whats goody yo
TALL WEEKEND CANS!
Good morning, homey! Are you back at the correct end of the state for now?
I am. Just took the trash out and I can see your house from here.
I’m finally on the tail-end of w/e respiratory infection I had. Now Jugsy has been benched with bronchitis.
I’m finally medicating for the lingering cough that’s been hanging on since I shook the head congestion at the end of March. It’s much better, but I want to get it GONE.
I think my left ear has been plugged-up ever since I got back from working in Wyoming in December.
Doesn’t seem to want to resolve itself.
Probably time to doctor up.
Hey y’all!
🌄👏☕
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=25sBhhOR4lw
🎶🎶
Good morning, Sean!
😁
*waves*
https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/6-charged-in-burglary-ring-across-lehigh-valley-berks-county-new-jersey/article_bb11064e-03e0-11ef-bdf5-cb239974f9a2.html
Real police work?
Granted, it’s taken far too long to catch them.
Charged are:
51-year-old Roger Juan Tirado of Allentown
51-year-old Jose Luis Torres of Carnegie, Pennsylvania
47-year-old Jonathan Mendez of Allentown
59-year-old Nydia Tirado of Allentown
48-year-old Agapito Pagan-Liciaga of Allentown
65-year-old William Tirado-Liciaga
The Middle-Aged Marauders? The Low-T Lawbreakers? Seems to be a lot of Latin American names, maybe MS-53?
Mornin’
Powerline hasn’t posted this week’s fun yet, but I saw this article on their front page. Seriously guys? You guys didn’t know JournoList 2.0 (and more versions) have been around for a long time?
Powerline also had this college regrets chart. The top entry made me chuckle.
Good morning, DEG!
Does Mass Communication count under “Communications”? If so, then… yeah. 😕
And it just posted