A Perfect Day Read Online Free Page B

little girl crawling into the safety and warmth of her papa’s bed.
    She looked up at me. Her eyes were dark but not dull, as there was a peculiar energy in them. I tried to read in her face an invitation or dismissal but saw neither, for she looked at me not as if I were a stranger to the home, but as if she were.
    I stepped inside, gently closing the door behind me. Allyson stood up and walked over to me. I put my arms around her and held her in the shadows, her soft face nuzzling against my neck. It seemed, for a while, that only the two of us were in the room; then Carson suddenly groaned and Allyson immediately returned to her father ’s side. I sat down on a chair at the side of the bed to wait.
    The last time I had seen her father he was a mountain of a man, rugged and large as the land he lived on. He was a man who could be thrown by a bull or stepped on and walk away with nothing but a few cuss words. This man in the bed was more desert than mountain. The cancer had left him frail and helpless. I wondered if he even knew that I was there.
    For the next hour Allyson and I sat quietly by the bed. Carson was quiet, though he mumbled from time to time and once he looked toward the ceiling and said what sounded like “Not yet,” and I followed his gaze, almost expecting to see some personage of another world suspended in the air. But still he showed no sign of dying. It was apparent to me that he was holding on. I knew why. And I realized that I was to play a role in Carson Phelps’s passing.
    An hour and forty minutes later, when Allyson left to use the bathroom, I took my chance to speak to him. Though I spoke softly, my voice seemed loud and misplaced in the silent room, like a stone thrown into a well.
    “Sir, I’m Robert. Allyson’s fiancé.” He showed no reaction and I had second thoughts about continuing. But I went on. “I know that Allyson loves you very much. She’s told me so. I know how you love her. She’s told me how you’ve always been there for her.”
    My eyes began to water. “I know that’s what you’re doing now. You’re holding on for her. But with all due respect, you don’t have to anymore. You don’t know me that well, but I love your daughter too. I love her with all my heart. I think she’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. And I promise that whatever life brings, I’ll do my best to take care of her. I’ll never leave her. You have my word.”
    When I finished there was only silence. I leaned back in my chair and the room fell again into shadow. For the next few moments Carson was as still as the room. Then his eyes opened and flitted toward me and he said something unintelligible, as much a gasp as speech.
    I leaned forward. “What?” I said. “I didn’t understand . . .”
    Again silence. His eyes closed. I sat back in my chair.
    Allyson came back into the room. She sat on the bed and again took her father’s hand in hers. And then his eyes opened. For a minute he looked at her and she gazed back at him. A single tear rolled down the side of his face. Then he gasped twice and was gone. For a moment all was still. Then Allyson began to shake, as the reality of his death enveloped her. I quickly went to her, as if to stop her from being swept away with her father. I held her body against mine, my hand around her head pulling it into my shoulder. “He’s gone,” she said. “My daddy’s gone.”

Chapter 3
    EIGHT YEARS LATER. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.
    I was a card-carrying regular at the deli across the street from the radio station. My lunch order was as consistent as my attendance: club on wheat, oil and vinegar, extra sweet peppers, no mayo, Sun Chips and a lemonade. The workers at the shop didn’t even ask anymore. I ate there every day except for when I was taking a client to lunch at one of the restaurants where my station traded airtime for food. I knew that I frequented the place too much when one of the workers invited me to her wedding.
    Though I