Among the Living Read Online Free

Yitzhak — if Ike wants some, tell him he’s more than welcome.”
    Jesler popped a few more into his mouth. “Like a drink?”
    Pearl shouted, “Offer him a drink, Abe. Mary Royal’s made a nice lemonade and we have tea. Don’t start in on the hard liquor. Ask him if he drinks hard liquor.”
    Abe shouted back, “He’s right here, Pearl. He’s hearing everything you’re saying.”
    “Just ask him if he wants something. I’ll be right out. Don’t make such a to-do.”
    Jesler tried a smile. “I guess there’s lemonade or tea if you want some. She’ll be right in.”
    “Could I use the toilet?”
    Jesler’s smile faded. He looked as if he had made a terrible mistake, as if somehow he had missed the most obvious question.
    “The toilet,” he said. “Of course. Yes … of course. It’s right through here. We’ve got two more upstairs if that’d be better. Would you be needing anything from your bag?”
    Evidently Jesler and his wife had been told about Goldah’s recent medical trouble: the requisite letters exchanged between government offices, health departments, all the warnings about “mental and physical difficulties” to be expected.
    Goldah’s kidneys had been in fine working order for the past three months but why tell the Jeslers that? No need for a follow-up letter, especially when the news was good. Let them prepare for the worst.
    “No, I don’t need anything,” Goldah said. “Thank you. Just through here?”
    Inside the bathroom, Goldah turned on the light and shut the door. He heard Jesler move quickly past, whispering, “He’s gone into the bathroom. He’s using the bathroom. ”
    The sink sat in front of a mirror and Goldah turned on the water. He brought two palmfuls up to his face and felt the roughness of his cheeks, the heat still in them. He let the water drip through his fingers as the tap ran, unsure if he was meant to take the soap — a light pink in the shape of a small flower — but brought it up to his nose nonetheless. Roses. Working it in his hands he barely mustered a lather. He washed it off and rinsed the little plate it sat on before setting it back down. All the while he kept his eyes from the mirror. He knew the face, knew the expression. Why bother with that? Instead he looked at his nails. He was finding them strangely compelling these days. They were cut and white and seemed even more foreign to him than the face. He turned out the light and opened the door.
    “We’re in here,” Pearl said from the parlor. “Was everything all right? Do you need something from your bag?”
    Jesler was sitting with Pearl on the settee. A young black woman stood by the window in a calf-length dress and maid’s apron.
    “No, thank you,” said Goldah. “Everything is fine.”
    “Mary Royal,” Pearl said, “this is Mr. Ike Goldah. Ike, this is Mary Royal. She’s been with us nearly three years.”
    “Afternoon, Mr. Ike.”
    Mary Royal had soft features with slim fingers that held a pitcher of dark, dark liquid.
    “She’s brought in the tea, and we have some pie I thought would be nice for you. People won’t be coming until after eight, but that’s still a few hours off and I want you to have an appetite. I thought pie would be good to tide you over.”
    Jesler and Pearl already had their plates on their laps. There was a third on the coffee table and Goldah stepped across to a chair.
    “Mary Royal makes an excellent tea,” said Pearl. “Would you care for some?”
    “Thank you. Yes.”
    “She makes it with a little mint. That’s the secret.”
    Jesler said, “Not a secret now.” He was eager to get to his pie but was doing what he had been told.
    Pearl said, “I said he was a handsome man, Mary Royal. Isn’t he handsome?”
    “He’s a grown man,” Jesler said with more edge than perhaps he intended.
    “Yes, Miss Pearl. A handsome man.”
    Goldah took a sip from his glass. He did his best not to wince. He wondered why they called this tea.