The Border Part Six by Amy Cross Read Free Book Online Page B

Kids use them at school all the time.”
    She paused, before slowly reaching out and prodding his arm.
    “Huh,” she muttered. “I’m not imagining this.”
    “What happened to you, anyway?” he asked, spotting the bandage on her shoulder. “It wasn’t the raccoon, was it?”
    She shook her head.
    “Just when you think Bowley is a safe place,” he continued, leaning back again, “a goddamn raccoon comes at you and reminds you that the world is filled with danger. First the Border, then this.”
    She turned away, ready to ignore him as usual, before realizing what he’d just said. Turning back to him, she saw that he was starting to fall asleep.
    “Did you say the Border?” she asked, nudging his arm. “Bob, this is important. Did you just say something about the Border?”
    “No, M’am,” he replied with a grin, miming zipping his lips shut. “Seriously, forget it.”
    “I know about the Border, you idiot,” she hissed, keeping her voice low as a patient was wheeled past. “Do you go there?”
    He paused, eying her with suspicion. “How much do you know?”
    “Are you a customer?” she asked. “Seriously, Bob, you ? Of all people?”
    “What’s that supposed to mean? Why wouldn’t I be a customer?”
    “Well, it’s just… I mean, they have…”
    “Standards?” He hiccuped. “I’m a member. I go every night.”
    She stared at him for a moment, watching the twitch on the side of his face. “Liar,” she said finally. “You’ve heard of the place, though, which means you probably had an application interview, and the fact that you’re drunk…” She paused again, running through the possibilities. “You got turned away, didn’t you?”
    He shook his head.
    “You failed the interview,” she continued, “and… It happened tonight.”
    He shook his head again.
    “Yes, it did,” she replied, “and that’s why you ended up drunk.”
    “Absolutely not.”
    “And the so-called raccoon attack…” She paused, trying to work out what had really happened to his hand, before realizing the truth. “Well, that part maybe happened,” she muttered. “I could totally see you getting attacked by a raccoon. Bob, in fact I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before. If you -”
    “Listen -”
    “You’re an idiot.”
    He raised both eyebrows.
    “You should be so monumentally glad that you didn’t get accepted,” she continued. “Believe me, whatever you think you’d gain from that place, it would have messed with your life. Be glad, be very glad, that you got to walk away.”
    “I thought the Border was a huge secret,” he replied, with a hint of a whine.
    “It is,” she told him, “so keep your mouth shut.”
    Sighing again, he leaned back and looked up at the flickering electric light. “Do you ever think,” he said after a moment, “that sometimes life isn’t turning out the way you expected? Do you ever wonder if you’re doing it all wrong?”
    “I think you’re doing it all wrong,” she told him. “You’ve got a wife and a beautiful little girl at home waiting for you, and instead you’re drunk in the emergency room, with a raccoon bite on your hand, and you’re feeling sorry for yourself because you didn’t get accepted into the Border. If you’ve got even a shred of sense and dignity left in your body, Bob, you’ll go home and you’ll set things right. Oh, and you’ll stop seeing that little trollop you’ve been sleeping with.”
    “I have no idea what -”
    “Don’t lie to me,” she replied, getting to her feet. Checking her watch, she paused for a moment. “It’s Christmas Eve. Right now, it’s Christmas Eve, do you realize that? I guess that means that, in about twelve hours’ time, you and I are going to be at a big family gathering and we’re going to have to act like nothing’s wrong with the world. Try to be sober by then, okay?”
    He paused, before nodding.
    “I have to speak to a doctor about my shoulder,” she added, “but then