The Qualities of Wood
Page 31
‘It didn’t bother you that you’re married?’
His face darkened. ‘Grow up, Viv. People have attractions.’
‘And she wasn’t your sister.’
‘I know that now.’
She crossed her arms over her chest. ‘What a relief that must be.’
Nowell placed his hands on her shoulders again and she felt the weight of them, the warmth. The burden and the comfort. Stubbornly, she turned her head away.
‘Viv,’ he said. ‘The biggest relief I’ve ever felt was when you got up from that rock and I saw you were okay.’
She looked up: the soft flesh of his neck, the dark hair, smooth and cool to the touch, the crescent-shaped mark under his eyebrow. Nowell.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said again.
Vivian was still stunned by his revelation but already, the sting was fading. He wasn’t the person she had thought, nobody really was. But he would never hurt anyone on purpose. She was sure of that.
‘It’s you and me,’ he said. ‘You know that.’
Reaching with her sore arm, she wrapped herself around his waist. His arms came down, enveloping her like a blanket.
‘Are we okay?’ he asked. His breath was warm on the crown of her head.
‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I really don’t know.’ She leaned back to see his face. ‘It might take time.’
He nodded, pulling her close again.
Suddenly, it seemed that a page was turned, an intersection crossed. Her mind turned to the future. She needed to take more interest in his work, in him, and she needed to find work of her own. She remembered the pottery class she’d take with Katherine, the sketchbook her mother had sent, the worth she had felt from a day of honest work. Maybe she’d find another part of herself after all. Chanelle Brodie wouldn’t get another chance.
‘Number One!’ Lonnie’s voice broke through the quiet.
Nowell reached out and she took his hand. They continued on until they reached the others and silently, they proceeded as a group. As they broke through the trees, the path lightened; the glowing orb of the moon had cleared the woods as well. Shining brightly at a great height, it cast glimmers onto the tall blades of grass, which bent and crackled softly under their feet. After two weeks of stifling heat, the breeze was cool. Above their heads, swollen storm clouds assembled, a solemn tribunal.
Battered survivors, they made their way out of the woods. Brief connections, Vivian thought: greed, fear, happiness. Even if other systems of living exist, somewhere in the vast unknown, this, now, is our reality.
We’re in this together.
Nowell stood in the tall, swaying grass. ‘I need to mow the lawn,’ he said.
Vivian remembered the first time she saw him in Geology class, the way he looked at her. Near his temples, the tips of his hair curled like a moist paintbrush, and he had the same dark eyes, deep as the well beside the house. She squeezed his hand and pressed her feet, one after the other, against the spinning earth. On the summit, Russell Gardiner’s structure endured, a lighthouse on a sea of green, the brightness spilling from within making the unfamiliar familiar, and beckoning them home.
Thanking
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to:
The authonomy community, who offered encouragement, friendship and invaluable feedback.
Early editors and readers, especially Genevieve, for advice on the opening sections, and my local trio, Patty, Maria and Jenni, for not holding back.
My family, who tolerates my habits and loves me nevertheless.
Above all, Scott Pack and Rachel Faulkner at HarperCollins, for their support and expert guidance.
About the Author
Mary Vensel White was born in Los Angeles and raised in Lancaster, California. She graduated from the University of Denver and lived for five years in Chicago, where she completed an MA in English at DePaul University. Her short fiction has appeared in The Wisconsin Review and Foothills Literary Journal. The Qualities of Wood is her first novel.
Vensel White currently lives in southern California with her husband and four children. She is working on another novel set in the Midwest, a place that flourishes in her imagination despite her sunny surroundings, and a collection of interrelated short stories.
About authonomy
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Copyright
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This edition published by authonomy 2012
THE QUALITIES OF WOOD. Copyright © Mary Vensel White. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Mary Vensel White asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
EPub Edition © JANUARY 2012 ISBN 9780007469505
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