Mercy of St Jude by Wilhelmina Fitzpatrick Read Free Book Online Page B

few dollars.”
    â€œI don’t know how she even knew about the test.”
    â€œMust have been that Annie told her. You’re in the same grade, sure.”
    â€œYeah, maybe,” Gerard said, looking down at his books.
    What’s he gone so red in the face for?
    Sadie laid her hand on his forehead. “You okay?”
    â€œJust hungry.” He shifted so that his head moved from under her hand. “Where were you?”
    â€œOver at the hospital getting them bunions looked at.”
    â€œCan they fix them?”
    â€œHuh? Oh, the bunions. Never mind them. They were just after taking that Beth Hann off in an ambulance. That young Annie might not get to be a aunt after all.”
    Hope he’s not coming down with something. Can’t always tell with the forehead.
    He brushed the hair out of his eyes. “Why were you so mad when you came in?”
    Sadie remembered Lucinda’s pinched face and how she’d pulled the door from Sadie’s hand. “Nothing important. Let me get you something to eat and a cup of tea.”
    He smiled at her. “Thanks, Ma.”
    Look at that face. Them lovely white teeth, them big brown eyes. Most handsomest smile I ever did see. Hit the jackpot with him, I did.
    â€œThat’d be great,” he said. “I’m starving.”
    Sadie smoothed his hair, letting her hand linger on the back of his head. He didn’t pull away this time.
    To hell with the Hanns.
    1999
    Gerry looks at his watch. It’s only ten thirty. He puts the lone teabag into the pot and pours boiling water over it. As he reaches for the cups, he feels his mother’s hand catch his arm as she staggers slightly on her way from the bathroom.
    â€œSteady on there, Ma,” he says, putting his arm around her.
    She squints up at him, then pokes at his lip, as if the action might make the scar disappear. She’d been furious when she’d first seen the cut. Gerry hadn’t told her that Aiden Hann was responsible; Sadie, as always, had her own sources. He hadn’t told her it was partly his own fault either, even though he suspected she would have been proud of him. It was the morning before the Halloween party at school, and Aiden, who made a habit of picking on anyone he deemed beneath him in the pecking order, started in - was Gerry dressing up as a fairy, how many costumes did he have in his closet, did he want a mop so he could come as his mother - calling Sadie a fishwife and a charwoman and getting increasingly revved up as people started to pay attention. Gerry usually ignored the taunts and left wherever he was as fast as he could, but that day he’d had enough. He stopped, turned around and smiled directly at Aiden. “Better than being a th-th-th-thief,” he said. Aiden’s face went purple. He bent down, grabbed a rock and whizzed it straight at Gerry’s head. Before Gerry could get over the shock of having his lip slit open, Pat stepped in and hauled Aiden away.
    â€œWhat were we talking about?” Sadie says now, rubbing her chin. “Right, Father James. Yes, indeed, fine man he is. He’ll be doing a baptism soon too. That Cathy Green went and had the baby.”
    Cathy Green is not his mother’s favourite person. To start with, she’s Annie’s best friend; on top of that, she’s Violet Green’s daughter. But Gerry has always liked Cathy. For a while, she was the only one who knew about him and Annie. Annie. He’s finally seen her again. If only it hadn’t taken Mercedes’ death to make it happen.
    â€œCathy’s life sure has changed,” he says. “A year ago she was still going out with Cyril. Now she’s a mother and married to someone else.”
    â€œPoor son of a bitch, he is,” says Sadie. “Didn’t take that Cathy long to get knocked up. Probably afraid he’d get away too. Cyril’s the lucky one there, I tell you.”
    â€œCome on,