Unexpectedly, Milo - Matthew Dicks [51]
But out of friendship and obligation, he had finished reading the book three nights ago, and was pleased to hear that Edith despised the book as much as he. In fact, according to her, the book had made her cry on several occasions. Though Milo hadn’t come close to tears, he wasn’t surprised at Edith’s admission. Based on the horrific way that Saramago treated his characters, he wouldn’t have been surprised to discover that the author despised each and every one of them.
After discussing the book with her for nearly an hour (to his credit, the biophysicist at least chose books that promoted conversation), Milo rose to rake out the shag and Edith finally asked about Christine and then Freckles. Though Milo had wanted to bring up these topics as soon as he entered the house, he knew that Edith would eventually find time for his concerns.
“So she doesn’t want to go back to therapy?” Edith asked as Milo finished raking under the final chair.
“I’m not sure. The message that she left on my machine last night was strange. She asked if I thought that therapy was still a good idea. Then she asked if I’d like to have coffee on Wednesday morning, before she goes to work and before we see the doctor. Then she reminded me not to be late for our appointment.”
“Was that it?”
“Yeah. She asked me to call back, but I had to leave early this morning, so I’ll call her back tonight. What could she be thinking?”
“I have no idea, Milo,” Edith said. “But Ed Marchand used to say that there are no incomprehensible women. Only ignorant men.”
“Thanks, Edith. That’s really helpful.”
“Don’t get snippy with me. I have no idea what your wife is thinking. I’ve never even met the girl. But here’s what I do know: You’d better find out what’s wrong. That girl used to adore you, but from what you tell me, that’s no longer the case. You need to know why. I can’t imagine why that fool doctor hasn’t asked her that question yet.”
Edith had a point. Though Milo knew that Christine was unhappy and that the two of them were struggling to communicate (and seemed to have run out of things to say to each other), he had no idea what had precipitated the change in their relationship and, more specifically, what had caused Christine’s feelings to change so dramatically. “Maybe Dr. Teagan asked her the question when they were alone.”
“Maybe Dr. Teagan should pass that information on to you, then, because it seems to me that it would be more helpful in your hands than his. Don’t you think?”
Milo thought Edith was right, but he also wondered how much he cared anymore. Did he want to repair his marriage because of a love he had for Christine or because of a desire to return to the convenience and steadiness of the relationship? He had begun to wonder.
Edith finished her last sip of tea, and when Milo didn’t respond, she continued. “Now, what about that girl on the videotape? Have you found her yet?”
Milo related the events of the previous evening pertaining to his search, including his fruitless attempts at researching Freckles’s identity. He added in the new information that he had gathered since he had last seen Edith, including the name of Freckles’s middle school and her mysterious morning fight, but he left out the part about Sherry Ferroni and cruelty in Mrs. Walker’s language arts class.
He thought that Freckles would’ve wanted it that way.
“Milo, why are you fooling around with the computer? Watch the goddamn tapes!”
“Yeah, I know. But I thought it might be pretty easy to find some information on her dead friend, and from there, I thought I might be able to find her.”
“You don’t know if those tapes are three weeks old or three years old. You could be watching video from ten years ago, right? What if this girl’s friend died in 1998? Will you still be able to find her obituary on the Internet?”
“Probably not, but the tapes don’t look that old. And the camera is in good condition. In fact, I might be able to figure out the year that the camera