That made him jerk his head toward me and glare. “Meanwhile,” I said, “you should probably focus on taking care of yourself so you can be there for her.” He stared at me for a silent moment and nodded once. So whatever needs to happen, we’ll do it.” “There’s plenty of that going around without looking for more of it. “I’ll have you know I’ve been a full-time dad for well over a month, and Maggie isn’t dead yet. A faint smile lightened his profile for a second. There was a universe of pain residing in that ellipsis. Birds in the sanctuary at the end of the beach were beginning to sing. The burble of noise from the freeways had begun to escalate by slow degrees. Chicago was starting to wake up around us. Blue had given way to lighter blue and then to the first wash of gold. “According to the family records, just over fifty percent either don’t survive the delivery or die shortly after.” She’s going to be fed upon continuously for the next seven and a half months.” Except that the baby’s Hunger will draw life energy from Justine. “And my kind are all but infertile to boot. “Did no one ever have this talk with you?” He looked aside at me without turning his head and lifted his eyebrows. His eyes, which were sometimes blue, usually grey, were tinting toward reflective silver. The ideal symmetry of his face was stretched tight with tension. The weighted vest I was wearing pinched at something on my shoulder, restricting its movement, and I rolled it irritably.įar out over the lake, the blue had begun to lighten. I stopped and turned toward the lake and breathed.
We had reached the end of our last lap and were almost back to the cars anyway. “Sorry to spoil your man time, there, Hemingway.”
We did six miles in the sand and neither of us said a word. He was one of those men who were so good-looking that it made people check around to see if they were being pranked. Like me, he wore an old T-shirt, sweatpants, and sneakers. His dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Thomas slowed down, too, until we were walking side by side.
In the blue light of July predawn, Montrose Beach was deserted. I dropped out of gear and gradually slowed down until I was walking. That kicked me completely out of my mental zone, and suddenly I became aware of the burning in my legs, my heavy breathing. My brother ruined a perfectly good run by saying, “Justine is pregnant.”
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