A Cross to Bear by M.J. Lovestone Read Free Book Online Page A

of Alzheimer’s. For your father, I believe that it is best that he is reminded. After that, tell him when he asks about her, like your mother.”
    “I want to bring him to the funeral.”
    “Of course. That will not be a problem.”
    ***
    Gabby knocked on the door to her father’s room. He was sitting in front of the television playing solitaire. An old western was on the TV, but the volume was turned down. On the radio beside her father’s bed, an old fifties song played.
    “Dad, it’s me, Gabriella.”
    He turned his head and looked at her. To her surprise, his face instantly shone with recognition. “Come in, Gabby, and please, close the door. The Peeping Toms around here love open doors, unless they’re taking a shit.”
    “I don’t think they’re spying on you, Dad.” Gabriella closed the door nonetheless.
    “Sure, sure. There’re cameras everywhere these days.” He pointed at her cell phone, which she had a habit of carrying in her left hand. “Put that thing in your pocket. Don’t you know it’s got a camera on it?”
    “Sorry,” said Gabby, putting her phone away and kissing her father on the cheek. She sat at the small table with him.
    “How are you doing, Dad?”
    “Well,” he said, laying five cards on an ace and opening a spot on the board. “Solitaire’s a lot like life. You usually lose. But I’m doing all right this go of it.”
    Gabby didn’t know if he meant the game he was currently playing or life in general.
    “I’ve got some bad news, Dad. Maggy . . . she was killed.”
    He stopped cold, the jack of spades in midturn. He stared at the card, and it began to tremble. “The knave of spades,” he said under his breath, almost inaudibly.
    “Did you hear what I said?” Gabby asked gently.
    “What? Of course I heard you,” said her father, snapping out of his pondering. “I know what happened to your sister. The police were here yesterday. They told me all about it.”
    Gabby watched her father. His eyes shimmered, but his jaw was set hard—he wasn’t a man who cried in front of others.
    She put a hand on his shoulder, though he flinched.
    “Nurse Phillips told me that you had forgotten what they said.”
    “Nah, I still remember. God knows I wish I didn’t, but I do. It’s one of the conditions of the curse.”
    Her father wasn’t making much sense, but that was the way it was sometimes. She wasn’t supposed to encourage such ramblings, but she was curious. “What curse, Dad? What do you mean?”
    He looked to her with wide eyes. He still held the jack of spades in his hand. His eyes moved to her pocket, and he leaned forward. “Aside from a camera, the feds can turn on your microphone without you knowing it, any time they want. Put the phone in the other room, and I’ll tell you what I know.”
    Gabby studied him, watching his eyes. In them, she saw the man she had once known. A shiver passed down her spine.
    “All right, I’ll be right back.” Gabby got up and left the room. Outside, she saw that the hallway was empty, and she put her phone in her purse and hung it on the outer doorknob.
    When she sat down once more, her father was waiting for her, still holding the jack.
    “ Now will you tell me about the curse?” she asked.
    “Shh,” he hissed, eyeing the room. “Keep your voice down when you speak of such things.”
    “The phone is outside. They can’t hear us from there,” said Gabby.
    Her father had always been paranoid and often spoke of Area 51, government surveillance, secret societies, and satanic politician pedophiles. Gabby respected her father and knew not to blow him off like so many others did. She often looked into the things he spoke of and, to her surprise, found that much of it was true.
    “There are other ways for things to hear,” said her father.
    “Things?”
    “I remember everything right now, Gabby. So listen up and listen good. I don’t know how long it will last. There are things that you need to know. Now that your