A Density of Souls (37 page)
Read A Density of Souls Online
Authors: Christopher Rice
Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Gay, #Bildungsromans, #Psychological, #Murder, #Psychological Fiction, #Psychology, #Young Adults, #New Orleans (La.), #High School Students, #Suspense, #Friendship
“They probably won’t. They don’t hurt anymore, do they?”
“Sometimes. At weird times, though. Like in the middle of the night I’ll wake up and they won’t hurt but I can feel them.”
Jordan switched off the light. “That’ll probably never stop,” he whispered. “You’ll probably always feel them.”
Underneath the comforter, Jordan traced the route of the scars across Stephen’s chest. Stephen let out an easy breath as Jordan’s hands glided down to his stomach. Stephen turned onto his side, as 274
A Density of Souls
he had learned to do, and Jordan nestled against his back, mouth to the nape of Stephen’s neck. They slept like two halves cut from the same stone, one floor beneath the room where Jeremy Conlin and Elise Charbonnet had conceived Jordan on a summer afternoon in 1976.
Monica prayed for sleep. The wedding picture would remain on her nightstand as penance for every day she did not inform Stephen and Jordan that they shared a father.
Stephen now dreamed in music, a clamor of remembered voices, in which no individual spoke the truth, but in which the accumulated layers of lies and loss gave way to a truth rare and great and capable of stripping wounds from a part of the world.
In Stephen’s dreams, Meredith sat beneath a star-studded sky free of clouds, her legs tucked to her chest, gazing out at open ocean but hearing the resonant fall of remembered rain.
A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s
Sid Montz encouraged me to read the short story which was the inspiration for this novel at the Spoken Interludes reading series in Los Angeles. My gratitude goes to him and series-producer, DeLauné Michel, for providing the perfect environment in which to light the spark.
Many friends read the novel in its earliest stages. Julia DiGiovanni, Todd Henry and Leigh Butler all provided invaluable encouragement and criticism.
My agent Lynn Nesbit gave both faith and effort, based on a percep-tive understanding of the story after the first reading.
My editor Jonathan Burnham saw the landscape of the novel and encouraged me to explore it further. David Groff coaxed out the necessary cadences with the gentlest of touches. Kristin Powers designed imagery that reflected its shape and atmosphere.
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