Drowning in the East River Read Online Free
Author: Kimberly Pierce
head. His tongue tripped over the words, which were slow coming out of his foggy mind. "I'm sorry, Jessica.”
David looked up as the street car rattled to a stop.
He and Jessica had moved into a tenement on Second Avenue and 42nd Street two years earlier.
It was a massive brick building, filled with young couples and growing, working class families. Compared to the rodent infested shack he had grown up in, it felt almost palatial.
Jessica was almost twenty-one and just over five months pregnant when they were married. She had tailored the dress herself, desperate to keep her tell-tale bump hidden from her mother and sisters.
As long as he had known Jessica, she had struggled with her reputation as the rebel of the family. Of her four sisters, two had become nuns, while Anna and Katherine remained chaste in their own way, living together rather than with men. Jessica had been the sister who moved out of the family tenement. She flirted with an interest in politics, especially the conditions in her family's home country of Ireland. While her entire family were in favor of Irish Independence, she was the only one who could actually speak to what was occurring.
Stepping off the streetcar on the corner of Second Avenue, David felt a pang in his stomach as a wave of nausea passed over him. He had been avoiding coming back here, trying to stay away from all the memories, but he had run out of excuses. He could feel his chest tightening, and it took all his restraint to put his hand on the doorknob to enter the building.
Stretching along the eastern edge of Midtown, the long blocks of Murray Hill were lined with new brownstones and freshly planted trees. It felt quiet and insulated, protected from the dated construction and constricting crowds which had taken over the rest of Manhattan.
He and Jessica had circled the blocks half a dozen times before they rented the space. They had liked the quiet nature of the neighborhood. Jessica had been won over by the sight of a young mother playing hopscotch with two toddlers in front of their brownstone.
The tenement dated back to just after the Civil War, and the interior was just starting to show the creeping onset of age in the once elegant decor. As David climbed the creaking and chipping wooden staircase to the 10th floor, the yellow patterned wallpaper was starting to fade and peel in the most traveled areas. The local kids had started leaving graffiti on the walls, the wallpaper had smeared where the landlord had attempted to scrub the landings clean.
He took a centering breath before pushing open the door to apartment 1027. The door scratched loudly against the hardwood floors of the living room as he stepped inside.
"Where the hell were you?" Anna asked, looking up from where she was sitting. A stack of photographs spilled over the kitchen table. Anna's lined eyes were harsh under her thick spectacles as she braced her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer. She had Thomas propped against her shoulder, sleeping soundly. She spoke softly, attempting not to disturb her sleeping nephew.
"My sister asked me over for coffee," David replied, hanging his cap on the hat rack just inside the door. He walked into the living room, and draped his suit jacket over one of the dining room chairs.
He stopped for a moment and looked around the living room; he rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "I was held up at work and have been running late all day." He deliberately shifted his eyes from the signs of Jessica which still littered the apartment. He hadn't had the time or the strength to move the shoes which were still by the door, or the handbag which was open on the kitchen counter. "I'm sorry.”
Jessica had spent months delicately decorating the tiny set of rooms. The walls were covered in a lightly patterned, ivory colored paper. The furniture, while purchased second hand, was still three months of his salary. The room
David looked up as the street car rattled to a stop.
He and Jessica had moved into a tenement on Second Avenue and 42nd Street two years earlier.
It was a massive brick building, filled with young couples and growing, working class families. Compared to the rodent infested shack he had grown up in, it felt almost palatial.
Jessica was almost twenty-one and just over five months pregnant when they were married. She had tailored the dress herself, desperate to keep her tell-tale bump hidden from her mother and sisters.
As long as he had known Jessica, she had struggled with her reputation as the rebel of the family. Of her four sisters, two had become nuns, while Anna and Katherine remained chaste in their own way, living together rather than with men. Jessica had been the sister who moved out of the family tenement. She flirted with an interest in politics, especially the conditions in her family's home country of Ireland. While her entire family were in favor of Irish Independence, she was the only one who could actually speak to what was occurring.
Stepping off the streetcar on the corner of Second Avenue, David felt a pang in his stomach as a wave of nausea passed over him. He had been avoiding coming back here, trying to stay away from all the memories, but he had run out of excuses. He could feel his chest tightening, and it took all his restraint to put his hand on the doorknob to enter the building.
Stretching along the eastern edge of Midtown, the long blocks of Murray Hill were lined with new brownstones and freshly planted trees. It felt quiet and insulated, protected from the dated construction and constricting crowds which had taken over the rest of Manhattan.
He and Jessica had circled the blocks half a dozen times before they rented the space. They had liked the quiet nature of the neighborhood. Jessica had been won over by the sight of a young mother playing hopscotch with two toddlers in front of their brownstone.
The tenement dated back to just after the Civil War, and the interior was just starting to show the creeping onset of age in the once elegant decor. As David climbed the creaking and chipping wooden staircase to the 10th floor, the yellow patterned wallpaper was starting to fade and peel in the most traveled areas. The local kids had started leaving graffiti on the walls, the wallpaper had smeared where the landlord had attempted to scrub the landings clean.
He took a centering breath before pushing open the door to apartment 1027. The door scratched loudly against the hardwood floors of the living room as he stepped inside.
"Where the hell were you?" Anna asked, looking up from where she was sitting. A stack of photographs spilled over the kitchen table. Anna's lined eyes were harsh under her thick spectacles as she braced her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer. She had Thomas propped against her shoulder, sleeping soundly. She spoke softly, attempting not to disturb her sleeping nephew.
"My sister asked me over for coffee," David replied, hanging his cap on the hat rack just inside the door. He walked into the living room, and draped his suit jacket over one of the dining room chairs.
He stopped for a moment and looked around the living room; he rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "I was held up at work and have been running late all day." He deliberately shifted his eyes from the signs of Jessica which still littered the apartment. He hadn't had the time or the strength to move the shoes which were still by the door, or the handbag which was open on the kitchen counter. "I'm sorry.”
Jessica had spent months delicately decorating the tiny set of rooms. The walls were covered in a lightly patterned, ivory colored paper. The furniture, while purchased second hand, was still three months of his salary. The room
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