The Ferryman by Christopher Golden Read Free Book Online Page A

sofa, and felt a deep and abiding love for her. She had never had a sister, nor in truth any girlfriend in whom she had ever felt she could confide completely. But the day Annette had first come to teach at St. Matthew’s, Janine had felt a connection. She had known they would be friends. She cherished the other woman’s place in her life, sometimes so deeply as to wish she herself were gay. They had joked about it often enough. And yet somehow, at times to her dismay, she simply could not conjure even the slightest interest in having sex with another woman, even one she loved so deeply.
    â€œHey,” Annette protested, squirming under the intensity of Janine’s examination of her. “Do I have sauce on my chin?”
    Overwhelmed by emotion, Janine slid closer to her on the couch and laid her head on Annette’s chest, holding her tight. She bit her lip to keep tears at bay and sighed heavily.
    â€œThanks, Elf,” she whispered. Janine turned her face up toward Annette’s, eyes wide, letting all her pain and affection show through.“I don’t think I’d be able to survive this without you.”
    A kind of uncertainty transformed Annette’s face. Her eyelids fluttered a moment, as though she were reluctant to hold Janine’s gaze. Then she smiled weakly, and bent to kiss Janine softly on the forehead.
    â€œI love you,” she whispered. “You’ll get through.”
    Janine basked selfishly in her friend’s dedication for a moment; then she sat up. Her fingers twined with Annette’s, and they shared a look of deep regret. Though she knew it was arrogant to think it, Janine had the idea that Annette might care for her as more than a friend, and she tried her best never to imply anything she did not feel.
    â€œI love you, too,” she told Annette, her mouth twisted into an expression of the irony she felt.
    Annette chuckled softly and shook her head as if erasing something from her mind. “So, what’s next?”
    â€œBen and Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk?” Janine suggested.
    â€œGood answer. But I meant for you. Tom Carlson said you could take the balance of the year off, start up teaching again in the fall, right?”
    â€œYeah,” Janine replied slowly. Carlson was the principal at Medford High, where she had taught since leaving St. Matthew’s. “I’m torn, though. I don’t know what I’d do with myself, you know? I think it might be worse, having that much time to think. I’m leaning toward going back, maybe in a couple of weeks.”
    â€œI’m sure your students will be happy,” Annette said.
    â€œYou kidding? They think I’m Attila the Hun. I wish I could have even a fraction of the rapport with my students as David always has with his.”
    At the mention of David’s name, Annette’s eyes lit up.
    â€œWhat?” Janine asked.
    A mischievous smile appeared at the edges of Annette’s mouth. “I told you Ralph Weiss died?”
    Janine was horrified. “That’s something to smile about?”
    â€œNo!” Annette quickly protested. “It’s just that, well, I talked to David earlier, and he wondered if it would be all right if he came over with me after the funeral tomorrow.”
    For a moment, Janine could only stare at her. A million thoughts whisked through her mind, leaving her mouth open in a tiny O of confusion. David, she thought. Her gaze and her memories seemed to ricochet around the living room, resting for only a heartbeat on spots where David had left traces of himself upon her life, a dozen artifacts of their time together.
    â€œJanine?” Annette prodded. “I didn’t want to upset you.”
    â€œYou didn’t,” Janine promised, glancing shyly away.
    â€œDo you want me to tell him no? I can. He’d understand, you know.”
    Janine shook her head, a flutter in her chest. “No. No, please tell