The Fury - Jason Pinter [25]
hand still at her mouth. She cocked her head to one side,
trying to determine whether she knew the man standing
in front of her.
"Is that...oh my God, is that you, Henry?"
Suddenly she righted herself, ran over as fast as her
sensible shoes could carry her. She flung her arms
around me and I found myself nearly supporting her
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entire body weight. She sobbed onto my shoulder as I
bit my lip, did everything I could not to break down as
well.
"The police...they called me at Spano's house....
What have they done to him?" she wailed. My mother
pulled away, looked at me, hoping for some answer,
some assurance that this might have been a terrible joke.
"He's going to be okay, Mom," I said, trying to inject
belief into that line when deep down there was none.
"It's a big misunderstanding."
"When are they going to let him out? I bought
chicken breasts for dinner."
"Mom," I said, "I don't think he'll be back in time
for dinner."
"Then when will he be back?"
I looked at Amanda. Her eyes said, What do you
want me to do? My mother looked so lost, confused. It
wasn't that I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth
about my father and Stephen Gaines, it was that for
whatever reason, she'd lost the ability to truly under
stand just how many wrongs this man had committed
toward her. Over the years her defenses had rusted.
Nothing allowed in, no anger, hostility or resentment
out. I wondered, now, if my attitude toward him, my
anger, was compounded by the lack of hers.
"I don't know when," I said. I took her hand. Held
it. She held on to mine, but her eyes were far off, distant,
trying to process the situation but clearly failing. To her,
the notion of my father being arrested was like him
being sent into outer space.
"Well, what do I do?" she said. "Should I wait at
home for him to be released?"
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Jason Pinter
"Home is a good idea, Mom," I said. "Do you have
money?"
She thought about this. "I don't know our checkingaccount information, but we keep a jar of emergency
money in a safe."
"How much is in there?" I asked.
"Five thousand dollars," she said.
"That should be enough for now," I said.
"Mrs. Parker?" Amanda said. My mother turned to
her. "My name is Amanda Davies. I'm Henry's...friend.
I'm a lawyer, so please don't talk to anybody you don't
know. Don't speak to reporters, don't give anybody
money, and only talk to the police if you have a lawyer
present. If you need one, tell the detective on the case
and he'll help you retain one, free of charge. We'll do
our best to get your husband out of this as soon as we
can. So put that chicken in the freezer."
"Thank you, dear," my mom said, her eyes twin
kling as she smiled at Amanda. "You said you're a
friend of Henry's...are you two in college together?"
My mouth opened, but I didn't say anything.
Amanda responded, "Something like that. You're
welcome to come to New York with us if--"
"Oh no, I could never do that." It was definitive. I
wondered when my mother last left the state.
"Do you want us to, I don't know, come over for
dinner?" I asked.
"Oh no," she said fervently. "The house is a godawful mess."
I nodded, felt my eyes begin to sting.
"Then I'll call you as soon as we get back," I said.
"Be strong. We'll sort this out. Remember what
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Amanda said. Don't talk to strangers, and also don't
believe anything anyone says about Dad."
"I know your father," she said sweetly. "If anyone
says he did something wrong, they just don't know
James."
"I love you, Mom. It's good to see you." I ap
proached, wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me
back, fragile, like the tension in her joints might cause
them to shatter. When we untangled, I held her hands
for an extra moment, then she let them go. Sitting back
down, she turned her attention to the ceiling. And we
walked away.
"You okay?" Amanda asked. She could tell I was
rattled. More than that. It was all my memories--good,
bad and wrenching--flowing back at once.
"I'm not sure yet."
"Will she be okay?"
"She's survived being