“Uncle Kir videoed them. I’ll have him send the video tomorrow.” If he said he already had it, she’d want to watch it then, and that would only wind her up again.
“So jealous,” she said.
“I said you’d be jealous.”
“Can we go see them too?” she said.
“Maybe we can try,” he said.
Erica was silent for a while then, but holding her breath, clearly thinking something more.
“What?” Laughton said.
“I don’t want to leave the preserve,” she said.
Hearing her say it, a part of him inside sank, and he realized that maybe he had wanted to go to Washington with Kir, join the Department of Health and Human Services, protect everyone, not just Liberty or even Charleston. But his mind settled back into the shape of their life here, in stark opposition to the assault on the island, and he knew, they wouldn’t ever leave Liberty. “We’re not going anywhere,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
She was quiet for another half minute, and then said, “I love you,” twisting under him to settle on her side.
He sat up, leaned over, and kissed the top of her head. “I love you, see you in the morning,” he said. He pulled the door closed, but not latched, as he left the room.
The light was on in the bathroom, visible under the closed door. Betty was getting ready for bed. Laughton went into their bedroom to wait for his turn in the bathroom so he could brush his teeth, sat down on the bed, pulled off his shoes without untying them, and then lay back. The next thing he knew, Betty was tucking him in. He didn’t wake up enough to go and actually brush his teeth, or even change out of his clothes.
“Good night,” Betty said, close to his ear.
And with his last conscious thought, he hoped in the morning he’d feel recharged.
More from the Author
Barren Cove
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ariel S. Winter was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Shamus Award, and the Macavity Award for his novel The Twenty-Year Death. He is also the author of the novel Barren Cove, the children’s picture book One of a Kind, illustrated by David Hitch, and the blog We Too Were Children, Mr. Barrie. He lives in Baltimore.
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ALSO BY ARIEL S. WINTER
Barren Cove
The Twenty-Year Death
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