“Flora, well she was just a kid herself, had never been off the island and was too scared
to go. No one blamed her for that. So Jules, practically a vegetable, has been there all these
years and she’s been here.
“Well, her family wasn’t too happy about that. Started treating her like a big burden.
She was in a bad way. So that kid, that pawpaw green kid…”
Nick wait ed for the story to go on. When it didn’t, he took his eyes from the horizon
and looked at Joe’s shining profile. “You were that kid?”
Joe nodded. “I know it looked bad. But I always liked Flora, and I wanted to help her,
make it right. She needed a friend. And then we were more than friends.
“People talked. About her, about me. I wondered if maybe we should do something
about it, but she said she wouldn’t divorce a man who couldn’t move, even if she couldn’t do
anything for him. He was Catholic, you understand.”
Joe turned his eyes on Nick, lingering long enough to make the priest uncomfortable.
Nick didn’t know if he should forgive the look or ask to be forgiven. He hunched forward in
his chair, cradling the beer bottle. “How come I never heard any of this?”
Joe drained his beer and looked out to sea again. “Eventually we all got used to it. She
and I went on, and folks stopped their whispering. The kids, the boats. We’ve been happy.
Happier than I deserve to be.” Joe turned back to Nick and forced a smile. “Living in sin, I
guess you’d call it. Come on, let’s finish this game. Want another beer?” He got up and
disappeared into the house.
Nick stared at the game board until Joe returned, and they continued the game in
silence, except for the slap of tiles. Only Nick’s triumphant “Domino!” set their tongues in
motion again.
24
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software