Fatherland – Victoria Shorr

She would ask Lora to get her some Bermudas, and maybe get her hair cut. Ponytails were for kids. His sister asked if she wanted to play jacks, but she didn’t. She wanted to play tug-of-war. Although she was relieved not to see him again that morning. She’d heard his mother yelling at him earlier, and then a door slam.

Breakfast was “hotcakes,” as they said, which in her house was usually a festive occasion, but here was mostly silent. Was that how these people were, or was it her fault? But what had she done? She hadn’t done anything—or had she? Was it her fault, what had happened? Did they know? Blame her? She was surprised, but also relieved, when her friend’s mother said she would drive her home, right after breakfast.

The plan had been for them to take her later, but the mother said she had to go into town now and couldn’t go twice. Josie’s friend wanted to come too, but her mother wouldn’t let her. Left her to do the dishes—a real punishment, Josie felt, so they must be mad at her too. Josie and the mother got into the car and sat mostly in silence. The mother was wearing old shorts, and a sleeveless cotton shirt, and her arms were fat.

Josie looked out the window. Did she really have something to do, or did she just want to get rid of her? They’d seemed glad to see her at first, treated her like an honored guest. Had her friend told, about the kiss? Did they blame her? Were they right? Had it been her fault? They pulled into her drive, and the mother turned to her and asked if she’d had a good time.

Josie said, yes, thank you, and the mother seemed like she wanted to say something else, but she didn’t, just shrugged, and Josie jumped out of the car and ran into the house. Timmy was still at the breakfast table, and her grandmother was making French toast, but Josie went straight upstairs. She threw down her little overnight bag with her nightgown and toothbrush, which she’d forgotten to bring when she went into the bathroom the night before, and then hadn’t wanted to risk going back for, possibly bumping into anyone—him—in the hall.

Now she brushed her teeth, and looked in the mirror. Still okay, she thought. Her eyes, her nose, nothing changed, nothing marking. She hopped on her bike and pedaled as fast as she could over to her friend Suzie’s.

Chapter I: A Wedding Party Chapter II: Howard and Electra Chapter III: Margaret Cauley Chapter IV: Bishop Maguire Chapter V: Lo Chapter VI: “Volare” Chapter VII: Harriet and Elizabeth Chapter VIII: The L-Shaped Room Chapter IX: “Six One Seven One” Chapter X: Suzie Chapter XI: Pink Champagne Chapter XII: Golf Chapter XIII: The Movie Star Chapter XIV: Shipwreck Chapter XV: “Time and Space Do Not Exist” —August Strindberg Acknowledgments OceanofPDF.com – I – A WEDDING PARTY It was almost surreal, he thought, looking out over the whole group, all of them smiling, happy, none of them knowing.

He’d even been part of the wedding party, one of the ushers for his brother-in-law, who wouldn’t, he figured, be speaking to him in the morning. He’d smiled for the photographers, posed with his wife, posed with her family, for the last time. Unless he didn’t go. That possibility had crossed his mind, as he watched Josie walk down the aisle with her little basket of flowers. She looked particularly sweet and touching, so serious, her sweet face almost angelic, and he’d wanted to pick her up and hug her, and his wife too, a bridesmaid, looking pretty again for the first time since the baby.

Her hair had gotten longer finally, and she’d lost the weight, and it had occurred to him that he could still stay put. Make a call and come up with something, anything, some good reason he wouldn’t be there tonight. But he wasn’t making that call. He was going. First of all, because he wanted to go. Had a need to go, a taste in his mouth for that pale skin, that tall, cool remoteness—former remoteness, but there were still traces.

He could still call it back. He glanced at his watch—she would already be there, waiting. Had already taken a shower, just as he liked, and put on the cotton nightgown. Or not, it didn’t matter. He would throw her in himself, if it came to it.

Like the last time, when they didn’t get out of bed for half a day. He looked up—into his mother’s eyes. Worried eyes—about what, though? Did she know? Sense something? No one knew, but why did she have that look? Why was she watching him? Why was she even here? Still, it had been nice of the family to ask his parents, to always ask them, though they never really fit. His father, in his cheap striped suit, his mother in that dress with the faded silk flower pinned to the shoulder.

Lora had wanted him to give her a nice pearl pin for Christmas, and he should have, he would. Next year. Not that she’d need it then, because this would be the end of these invitations. Too bad for his mother, but he’d already done plenty for her.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 187c6704768aee72
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,563,145 bytes (1.491 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 153
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 266.56 minutes
• Total Words: 53,312
• Total Characters: 293,700
• Average Words per Page: 348.44
• Average Characters per Page: 1919.61

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