Mad River Road Read Free Page A

hair was too tight.
    “I’ll take that as a no.” He let go of her hair and her head fell to her chest, as if she’d been guillotined. She was crying now, which surprised him. He hadn’t expected tears. At least not yet. “So, how’s everything been?” he asked, as if this was the most normal of questions. “You can answer,” he said when she failed to respond.
    “I don’t know what you want me to say,” she said after a long pause.
    “I asked you how everything’s been,” he repeated. “You gotta know the answer to that one.”
    “Everything’s been fine.”
    “Yeah? How so?”
    “Please. I can’t.…”
    “Sure you can. It’s called conversation, Gracie. It goes something like this: I say something and then you say something. If I ask you a question, you answer it. If youdon’t answer it to my satisfaction, well, then, I’m going to have to hurt you.”
    An involuntary cry escaped her throat.
    “So, my first question to you was ‘How’s everything been?’ and I believe your answer was a rather unimaginative ‘Fine,’ and then I said, ‘How so?’ And now, it’s your turn.” He lowered himself to the bed, leaned in toward her. “Dazzle me.” She was staring at him, as if he’d taken complete leave of his senses. He’d seen that look many times before. It never failed to make him angry.
    “I don’t know what to say.”
    He detected a hint of defiance creeping into the corners of her voice but decided to ignore it for the time being. “Well, okay. Let’s start with work. How’s that going?”
    “It’s okay.”
    “Just okay? I thought you loved teaching.”
    “I’m on a sabbatical this year.”
    “A sabbatical? No kidding. Bet you think I don’t know what that means.”
    “I never thought you were stupid, Ralph.”
    “No? Could have fooled me.”
    “What are you doing here?”
    He smiled, then slapped her with such force she fell back against her pillow. “Did I say it was your turn to ask questions? No, I don’t believe I did. Sit up,” he shouted as she buried her face in her hands. “Did you hear me? Don’t make me tell you again, Gracie.”
    She pushed herself back into a sitting position, her fingers trembling in front of her now red cheek, any trace of her earlier defiance erased by the palm of his hand.
    “Oh, and don’t call me Ralph. Never did like that name. I changed it as soon as I got out of prison.”
    “They let you out?” she muttered, then winced and pulled back, as if trying to shield herself from further blows.
    “Had to. Can’t begin to tell you how many of my rights it turns out had been violated.” He smiled, remembering. “My lawyer called what happened to me a real travesty of justice, and those judges he appealed to, well, they had no choice but to agree with him. Now, where were we? Oh, yeah. Your sabbatical. That’s pretty boring. I guess I don’t need to hear any more about that. What about your love life?”
    She shook her head.
    “What does that mean? You don’t have a love life, or you don’t want to tell me about it?”
    “There’s nothing to tell.”
    “You’re not seeing anyone?”
    “No.”
    “Now, why doesn’t that surprise me?”
    She said nothing, glanced toward the window.
    “Storm’s coming,” he said. “Nobody else is though.” He smiled the boyish grin he used to practice for hours in front of the mirror, the one that had always been guaranteed to get him into the pants of any girl he wanted. No matter how much they protested, they just couldn’t resist that smile for very long. Of course Gracie had always been impervious to his charms. He’d smile at her, and she’d just stare right through him, as if he didn’t even exist. “When was the last time you got laid, Gracie-girl?”
    Immediately, her body tensed, recoiled.
    “I mean, you’re a reasonably attractive woman. And you’re young. Although you’re not getting any younger, are you? How old are you anyway,