A Hole in the Universe Read Online Free

too close? Dennis called up to remind him that Lisa was expecting him for dinner Friday night. “She wants to know if you’re bringing Delores,” he added.
    “It’ll be just me.”
    “But you said you were going to ask her!” When Dennis had run into Delores the other day, he’d mentioned dinner, foolishly saying that Gordon would call her.
    “I know, but I didn’t.”
    “So call her now. She’s dying to see you. She told me.”
    Looking down from the top step, Gordon shook his head. “I don’t want to.”
    “Why not?”
    “I don’t know. I just don’t feel like it.”
    “Jesus, she’s your friend! I mean, she’s been writing and going up there for how many years now?” Not much to look at, maybe, but she was exactly what his brother needed right now, a good woman and a good job. Gordon’s impassive stare was maddening. Goddamn sphinx, he should consider himself lucky Delores even cares. Lucky she’s so desperate. “You gotta call her, Gordon. It’s the least you can do.”
    “What time should I come?”
    “Anytime.” Dennis grinned with the rare concession. “We’ll probably eat at six-thirty or seven, but you know Lisa, the earlier the better!”

CHAPTER 2
    As Gordon came down Nash Street, he wondered if the Dubbin family still owned the Market. He had been the same age as the Dubbin twins, Cynthia and Cornelius, though he’d hardly known them. They lived in Dearborn and seldom came into the store. He remembered their white-columned brick house from Sunday drives through Dearborn’s tree-lined streets while his mother pointed out her favorite houses. First on the route belonged to the Dubbins, whom she felt she knew because her son worked for them. Next came her doctor’s house, her principal’s, Mrs. Jukas’s sister-in-law’s, and others she had never met but had read about in the paper.
    Faded paint was peeling off the Nash Street Market sign. Warped green roof trim arched over the plate glass like an enormous eyebrow. A web of duct tape patched the shattered lower half of the exit door. Gordon pushed the door open, relieved it wasn’t automatic. He always had the feeling he had to hurry through before they swung back and hit him.
    The old smell of damp fruity dust seemed to grow right over him. He paused by the rusted office grate. One thing was different: the quiet, the strange emptiness for midmorning. No cashiers at the registers. Maybe it hadn’t opened yet. He froze; only his eyes moved. What if something had just happened, and here he was, a week out of Fortley, first on the scene? Who would ever believe him? He started for the door when he saw a tall man with long curly hair stacking pasta boxes at the end of an aisle.
    “Excuse me!” Gordon called with a weak wave. The man didn’t look up. Remembering Miss Jamison’s startled reaction, Gordon jammed both hands into his pockets and cleared his throat. “Umm, I don’t mean to bother you, but is the store closed?”
    The man looked back and snorted. “Well, whaddaya think, you’re in here, aren’t ya?”
    “Well, I know, but I didn’t see anyone, so I thought maybe I was too early or something.”
    The man edged back with Gordon’s approach.
    “I mean, it just seems to be the two of us. And . . .” He took a deep breath. Sweat seeped into his eyes, making him blink.
    “And what?” The man glanced past him.
    “Well, I . . . could I . . . ,” he stammered. “I . . . I need to . . . well, you see, I came in to . . . Are you the manager?”
    “Christ! Another fucking holdup?” the man said, shaking his head. “Look, you don’t need the manager. The safe’s empty! They don’t even bother anymore. They just put enough in the registers to get started.” He pointed toward the office. “The register keys’re—”
    “No!” Gordon shouted. “This isn’t a holdup! I’m not going to rob you! I just . . .” He started to take his hands out of his pockets, then stopped with the shock on the man’s face.