As we shared the huge plate of beef, we spoke so much and ate so slowly that we had to order a second bottle of wine, our bellies full to bursting as we kept on talking and mopping up the red meat juices with the last of our fries.
Once we were done with our meal, we were too full for dessert. You asked me if I wanted to find somewhere quiet for another drink. Or a coffee, perhaps.
When we left the restaurant, I remember seeing the Empire State Building all lit up in blue, the sky indigo with a thin veil of cloud hanging over the tips of the tallest buildings. We didn’t even think about where we were headed, just walked off together into the night, still talking and talking, until we found ourselves in Union Square, the lights of the park burning blue, and you reached out and took my hand. How warm you felt. How wonderful it was to be alive in that moment, walking through the park hand in hand.
But how strange the light. Sky, trees, streetlamps. Everything blue. Everything.
I remember what came next almost as if someone had choreographed our movements, both of us slowing down, stopping and turning, our lips coming closer as I fell deeper and deeper into the blue.
Your eye was as blue as a lake when you leaned in to kiss me. I closed my eyes and our lips met. And in that moment, embraced by the light of your kiss, I knew I would love you until the day that I died.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a considerable debt of gratitude to the following: my remarkable wife, Margi Conklin, who reads everything at the truly ugly stage and manages somehow to steer me lovingly into clearer waters; my indomitable editor, Stephen Morrison, who identified and polished my ugliness with the tact and skill of an empathic superhero; my beloved agent, Jessica Papin, who has never once been wrong; the baddest journalist in town, Michelle Gotthelf, who is the news in New York City; Debra Rosenzweig, for all your help and a particularly vital spark; my phenomenal team of readers, Sharon Pelletier, Jonathan Brown, Katherine Gleason, Jeffrey Williams, Shaun Pye, Sarah Crawford, Jemima Rhys-Evans and Paul Manes, whose kind and thoughtful insights helped me get past the mostly ugly stage; Bill J. Smith, John D. Trawick and Keith Lenart, without whose generosity in sharing their experiences of monocular life, this novel would be a less-than-half-baked thing; Naoisa Hoskins and Beth Peck, who saved me from being wrong about American schools a thousand times; the extraordinary team at Picador, Pronoy Sarkar, James Meader, Declan Taintor, Henry Yee (your cover took my breath away), Shelly Perron and Kolt Beringer (thank you for putting up with my irksome idiosyncrasies), and Jeremy Pink; for the loan of Too Happy Cabin, Sara Bernstein and Morgan Spurlock, a perfect place to write; Gail Blauer for another happy cabin loan; Eric Bailey, Jason Kohn and Tom Keane, who helped me get my facts straight over and over again; and for their help in a number of other multifarious but vital ways, Laura Harris, Susan Conklin, Ted Conklin, Charlotte Fall, Katie Deabler, Alex Masucci, Kirsten Fleming, Charlie Rowlands, Emily Dziedzic, Mackenzie Dawson and Lauren Abramo.
ALSO BY CHRISTOPHER J. YATES
BLACK CHALK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHRISTOPHER J. YATES was born and raised in Kent and studied law at Oxford University before working as a puzzle editor in London. His first novel, Black Chalk, was named a Must-Read by The Boston Globe and the New York Post and named a Best Book of the Year by National Public Radio. Grist Mill Road is his second novel. He lives in New York with his wife and dog. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Part I
Patch
New York, 2008
Patch
New York, 2008
Patch
New York, 2008
Patch
New York, 2008
Patch
New York, 2008
Patch
New York, 2008
Patch
New York, 2008
Into the Blue
Part II
Hannah
New York, 2008
Hannah
New York, 2008
Hannah
Into the Blue
Part III
Matthew
New York, 2008
Matthew
New York, 2008
Matthew
New York/New Jersey, 2008
Matthew
New Jersey/New York, 2008
Matthew
Roseborn, New York, 2008
Matthew
Roseborn, New York, 2008
Matthew
Roseborn, New York, 2008
Matthew
Rockefeller Lookout, New Jersey, 2008
Matthew
Roseborn, New York, 2008
Matthew
Roseborn, New York, 2008
Matthew
Roseborn, New York, 2008
Matthew
Roseborn, New York, 2008
Into the Blue
Acknowledgments
Also by Christopher J. Yates
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
GRIST MILL ROAD. Copyright © 2017 by Christopher J. Yates. All rights reserved. For information, address Picador, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Epigraph from “Feelin’ Good” by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse.
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Yates, Christopher J., author.
Title: Grist Mill Road: a novel / Christopher J. Yates.
Description: First edition. | New York: Picador, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017028306 (print) | LCCN 2017030199 (ebook) | ISBN 9781250150318 (ebook) | ISBN 9781250150288 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250189929 (international edition)
Subjects: LCSH: Triangles (Interpersonal relations)—Fiction. | Life change events—Fiction. | City and town life—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | GSAFD: Suspense fiction.
Classification: LCC PR6125.A8593 (ebook) | LCC PR6125.A8593 G75 2017 (print) | DDC 823'.92—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017028306
eISBN 9781250150318
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First Edition: January 2018
Grist Mill Road Page 32