Page 39 of Twice
I didn’t know how to respond to that.
“Even now?” I finally said.
“Well, notnow,Alfie,” she said, laughing.
And she took my hand.
She took my hand.What an arterial burst of joy! Her palm was soft and small enough to be dwarfed by mine, and we slid our fingers sideways until they fell in place, then tightened as if snapping two souls together. We began walking to the zoo exit. We didn’t say a word. But she leaned into me, and her head grazed my shoulder, and every inch of my body felt like it was smiling. Nothing in my life ever seemed as destined as that moment.
Sadly, Gianna wouldn’t remember any of it.
?
When I got home that night, the house was dark, and I figured my father was asleep. I got into bed still thinking about Gianna and passed out happily a few minutes later. Next thing I knew, light was coming through the window and the phone was ringing. I was groggy and figured Dad would get it, so I rolled over and tried going back to sleep. When it kept ringing, I dragged out of bed.
“Hello?” I mumbled.
“Is this the Logan residence?”
“Uh... yeah?”
“This is Memorial Hospital. I’m calling about Lawrence Logan.”
“My father?”
“So you’re his son?”
“Yes...?”
“There was an accident. We used his driver’s license to find this number. We called several times during the surgery yesterday, but nobody answered.”
“What surgery?”
A pause.
“It might be better if you came down. Do you have a way to get here?”
“Yes... I... I have his car... but—”
“We can explain everything once you get here.”
“Hold on, hold on,” I stammered. “Is he... alive?”
The words came from my mouth as if someone else were using my voice.
“Yes. He’s alive. Come as soon as you can.”
Nassau
“Wait,” LaPorta interrupted, “what happened to him?”
Alfie looked up from the notebook.
“If I keep reading, you’ll—”
“Just tell me.”
Alfie leaned back.
