Redemption Read Free Page B

didn’t want to go. The world was full of waifs who were no responsibility of mine, and she was a waif—no question about that—beaten and broken, unable to walk away from the only man who had shown a touch of kindness and interest. Did I want to keep her here with me? That’s a question I have asked myself a thousand times. I was lonely—but that had been the sum and whole of every day of my life since my wife had died. Some trick of fate or fortune had brought us together; and for very different reasons—or perhaps for the same reason—neither of us was willing to break the fragile link between us.
    â€œSit down and tell me about the goblets,” I said to her, pouring another cup of coffee.
    She sat down at the table again, and I think we both knew at that moment that we were trapped. Perhaps that’s the wrong word. I have to say that my heart went out to her. I said to myself, Ike, this is a sick woman, a battered woman, and if you don’t stop this right now, your life is going to become very complicated.
    â€œDid you give him the bracelet? And by the way, what’s his name?”
    â€œSedge. William Sedgwick Hopper. No!” The last word came out explosively. “No, I did not.” Then she appeared to be ashamed of the small outburst. “It wasn’t that. He said he’d get it sooner or later. I don’t care about the damn bracelet.”
    â€œYou’re not wearing it,” I noted.
    â€œNo. It’s crazy—I didn’t want to destroy it. I left the bracelet at home.”
    â€œIt’s not so crazy.”
    â€œBut I wanted to destroy myself.”
    â€œPerhaps, perhaps not. I don’t know you well enough to know what you wanted. Tell me about the goblets.”
    â€œGoblets?”
    â€œYou said that was the last straw.”
    She managed to smile. When she smiled, her whole face lit up and she was quite lovely. “You really want to hear about it? It makes me out to be a fool. I broke down when he told me he was going to leave me and marry Grace. She was my friend, and they had been sleeping together for months. I knew and I didn’t want to know. I felt so cheap and dirty, like one of those incredible people on the afternoon talk shows.” She began to cry at that point. I let her cry, only pushing a box of tissue toward her.
    It was well past noon now, and the telephone rang, a colleague of mine at the university. I picked up the phone in the living room, and Elizabeth went into the bedroom where she had slept. As I put down the telephone, she came out of the bedroom with her coat on and her bag in her hand.
    â€œThank you for everything,” she said.
    â€œI would like to see you again, at least to hear about the wine goblets,” I said.
    â€œYes, that would be nice.”
    â€œWhat will you do now?”
    â€œJust go home. I work a swing shift.… Sometimes it’s in the afternoon, sometimes in the evening when the store’s open late, and sometimes it’s in the early morning. It just depends. Today it’s the afternoon shift, so I’ll just have time to shower and change my clothes. I’ll be all right.”
    â€œI thought we might have lunch together,” I said lamely.
    â€œYou’re really afraid that I’ll try to kill myself again. I died once on the bridge. No, not again, Ike.”
    â€œThen dinner tonight? Later, after work? I want to see you again.”
    A long hesitation—as she stood at the door, her eyes cast down. Then she looked at me, her gray eyes filled with need, and slowly nodded. I wrote down her phone number and address, and then she left.
    I shaved, showered, changed my clothes, and then walked over to the university, wondering if I should have canceled my lunch date with Charlie Brown, a colleague and old friend, or whether I should have brought Elizabeth with me. Charlie, a dozen years younger than I, was still teaching. His field was