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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] sleeping baby s chin. The lines on her forehead softened. She smiled at no one in particular. A gray-haired couple sat together near the nurse s station. The woman folded and re-folded red and brown 183 feet pajamas. The man looked at his watch. Devin took the seat across from them. The man reached for his wife s hand and she exhaled. An ambulance pulled into the driveway, lights flashing. Devin looked at Oisin. It s time, she said and the three of them stood at the edge of a room busy with nurses wearing teddy bear scrubs and a doctor barking out instructions. A small boy lay on the exam table under a harsh halogen lamp. The boy s father stood near the door holding a bottle with a pink label and no cap. Devin held Jordyn s hand. The doctor and nurses stopped cold. Oisin walked to the bedside. He stroked the boy s face and lifted him into his arms, rocking him gently as he sang an Irish cradle song, soft and sweet. He laid the boy back on the table, brushed the hair back from his tiny forehead, and stepped away. A nurse turned the boy on his side. He gagged and the smell of bubblegum filled the room. The halogen lamp went dark. The doctors and nurses, the boy and his family, and Devin were gone and Oisin stood in front of Jordyn. Don t be afraid, he said. Jordyn ran her fingertips along the side of his face. I m not. She wrapped her arms around him. Oisin stroked her soft hair. He held her tight and whispered, "I have loved you forever. And she knew it was true. She stood with him, her soul laid bare in his presence as it had been for countless lifetimes. 184 Forever . . . The word washed over her in crushing waves, unyielding, eternal. Her knees began to buckle. Oisin raised her up and kissed her lips. Jordyn kissed him back hard. He tasted like cardamom and honey and the dust of ancient stone cobbled streets. She didn t feel the snow now falling in heavy flakes all around them on the sidewalk in front of the church. Oisin kissed her forehead and watched as she opened her eyes, watched as she recognized the centuries of longing and of sorrow no longer hidden in his boyish face. You have to go, said Jordyn. I do. Oisin twisted the ring off his finger. He held Jordyn s hand and pressed his ring into her palm. He closed her fingers tight around it and placed her fist over her heart. He kissed her again, long and slow, then walked away, vanishing into the falling snow. Jordyn uncurled her fingers and looked at the ring, the three-lobed knot inside a circle. She smiled and pushed it into her coat pocket, deep as she could. Will waited behind the last pew. The altar servers lit the candles and walked to the back of the church with the priest. At the front, a guitarist strummed the first notes of "What Child Is This." Jordyn slipped inside with the rest of the late- comers, excusing her way politely to Will's side. She 185 took his elbow. So much for a good seat, she whispered in his ear. He smiled. Merry Christmas, Quig. Merry Christmas, Emerson. After Mass, Will walked Jordyn to the el stop then headed home. His stomach growled. He took the back stairs, the quickest and most direct route to the kitchen, two at a time. Will tossed his keys onto the table. They landed on a manila folder with a soft thud and slid off the table taking the file with them. The contents of the file scattered when it hit the floor. He collected the keys and, pausing to read a line here and there, stuffed the loose papers back in place until the file was once again whole. He rummaged through a cabinet until he found a fresh package of biscuits, pocketing a few. The stack of files on the counter stood at least ten high. He thumbed the edge of the folder, tucked it into his backpack, and left the way he had come. An hour later Will rang Jordyn s bell. She opened the door. He slipped the corner of the file out of his bag. She smiled sideways and pulled him inside. 186 187 For more information visit: http://www.emersonandquig.com What's next? Emerson and Quig: Book Two Finding Jordyn Now that Will and Jordyn have touched heaven, find out what happens when hell comes calling. 188 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |