Page 54 of The Vow

“Yep. Those were the good ol’ days. My pappy even had horses. Now, what was his name?” Cable paused as if expecting me to know the answer. “I don’t remember. Doesn’t matter. One boy from our gang challenged Phil to walk the rail, arms outstretched, one foot in front of the other. Said he’d give him his penny candy if he could do it the rest of the way.”

As he continued his story, I could see Cable’s hands were shaking. His age spots blended like a redhead’s freckles. “You okay, old man?”

“Old, but not okay,” he said, pressing his hands over his ears. “My pup was barking like it was rabid. My brother could hear the whistle. We all could. It’s a train whistle for Christ’s sake. But Phil’s sole purpose in life was to tempt fate. It wasn’t about winning candy anymore. It was about playing chicken with that locomotive.”

I didn’t have to hear the end of the story to know that the name Phillip is cursed. “He lost the game.”

“That’s right. I witnessed the impact. I loved him. I looked up to him, but he was a dumb bastard.”

The horror that Cable was forced to relive was unjust, because I could tell that he had spent his entire life trying to erase the ghastly image from his memory. “Life is cruel.”

“It is, son. But that’s not why I’m telling you this. I tried to warn you that impact was coming, the same way I tried to warn Phil. I failed you. I failed both of you.”

Alex came in, wiping the sweat from her brow. “The humidity today is off the charts. Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll go to the bedroom while you finish your visit.”

“No. We’re done.” Cable stood unsteadily and picked up his cane. “I said what I came to say. But remember one thing, son,” he said, tapping the cane across his shin. “My brother had legs and he still didn’t use them to get to safety.”

Alex walked him out. I heard Cable tell her to call him if we needed anything. His admission of guilt was like a final confession, and he was seeking forgiveness from me. If I had legs, I’d run after him and tell him that there was nothing to forgive, because just like his brother had with the train, I played chicken with Scarpetta.

Twenty

“It was a madhouse. I almost called the cops.”

Nick was doing his best at playing plumber. The leaky faucet was costing us; I didn’t care if it was only pennies, it was money down the drain.

“Because of an overcooked steak?”

“That’s how it started, yeah. The guy refused when I offered to make him another one and then he refused to pay for the entire meal. His wife lost it on him. Called him a cheapskate. Then he verbally attacked her. That’s when his father-in-law overturned the table and said he’d had enough and called the guy a deadbeat. Fun times. Where’s the missus?”

Alex left earlier to go and speak with the pharmacist about shoulder harnesses to improve my posture. I told her I didn’t need one, but she insisted. It’s come to the point where she’s away more often than she’s home but always takes my cell phone with her. My fractured mind believes that she’d rather not be around me. I wouldn’t want to be around me either.

“Shopping.”

“Speaking of which... here.”

The wad of bills that Nick pulled from his pocket was bigger than the last wad. “I can’t keep taking your money. I’m the one who still owes you a bar tab.”

“Shut up, fuckface. You’ll still owe me that later.”

“What does Brenda think of this?”

“Um... it was her idea. You’re family and family does what they can.”

“I’ll pay you back,” I mumbled, accepting the cash. “How’s the faucet?”

“Fixed. Never knew I had it in me. Shit, I almost forgot.”

Watching Nick jog to the foyer, I mourned what I’ve lost. My entire identity was destroyed in 0.8 seconds. Sometimes, I dream that I can walk, and dance, and make love, and when I wake up to the crushing realization that I can’t, and probably never will again, I curse God. Being a burden to Alex is my worst nightmare.

Nick handed me three sheets of paper, one from each of his kids. “They wanted to do something for you, so I told them to paint a picture of Uncle Pip. And you better fucking like them, because now my dining room table looks like a Woodstock t-shirt. It’ll take me forever to get that paint off.”

My childhood best friend has always been lousy at hiding his true intentions. When he proposed to Brenda, he had the scatterbrained idea of pretending to break up with her. After she accepted his apology, and then his proposal, she threw the ring box at his head. He’s trying to make me laugh, but that part of my brain must have felt the brunt of Scarp’s punch.

“Tell them I love them.”

“Them? Or the pictures?”

“Both.”