Even seeing his bleeding skin, you won’t feel.
Don’t you remember your hands on the blade?
Don’t you remember how it hurts?
Don’t you remember?»
She dropped the guitar, and burying her face in her palms, Marina burst into tears.
Chapter Twenty: So Same, So Different
How mindfully he was preparing for this meeting! Jeff Menard tried on all his suits, all his shoes, and all his ties.
Vera had never seen him in civilian clothes, and Jeff was afraid she would not like it.
He carefully checked the alarm clock and went to bed earlier than usual. But he was too excited and could not sleep, thinking about Vera.
«What’s she doing right now?» He dreamily closed his eyes. But the thought that in this moment she could be making love with Oleg struck Jeff to the bottom of his soul, and all his drowsiness left instantly. He sat up in bed suffering with the pain of jealousy.
«Why not?» a mocking inner voice sounded. «He’s her husband for God sakes!»
«No matter,» he whispered, clutching his hands into fists. «She’ll go with me tomorrow. She’ll go with me…»
* * * * *
When he drove to her apartment it was 8:25 a.m., and Jeff hesitated as the whether he should honk or not, as it was very early and most of the people in the building would be asleep.
But the door opened and Vera flitted out, and quickly sat in the front seat of his car. He drove away so fast that the tires screeched, and they both laughed, feeling ashamed, but happy, like children skipping school.
«I’ve been going to the same church for as long as I can remember,» Jeff explained. «My parents moved to Kentucky a few years ago, and I rented the apartment here, but I still go to this church. Have you ever visited an American church?»
«Nope,» she said, smiling. «I’m not a religious person.»
«Me either. But it’s a tradition. Like Christmas or Easter. I read somewhere that a reporter asked some children about these holidays, and most of the kids said that Christmas is the birthday of Santa Claus and Easter is a Chocolate Day.»
«Sometimes children have such odd thoughts,» Vera replied, shaking her head. «Adults could barely understand them. I remember once, when I was a child, after gym class, I was the first to get back to the classroom. I saw that the teacher’s locker was open slightly, and I peeped in. It was a big, metallic locker with papers and posters and a playful idea came to me. I quickly got in, and sat on the floor. I hid myself under those papers. I planned to start meowing when class began. I was imagining how funny it would be. But I was tired after the gym, and I didn’t realize that I was falling asleep.»