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Back Black Ambrosia Save as PDF
Chapters (46)
  1. CoverImage
  2. Introduction by Grady Hendrix
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. About the Author
  46. About the Cover

LEWIS GREGORY: “My mother died just before Christmas. December, uh, fifteenth, I think it was. Angelina and I already had a tree up. Dad called while we were having breakfast. I called the store, packed, and left. My dad was in pretty bad shape. I helped him with the arrangements, then we buried her. He and I went out a couple of nights together; I just hated to leave him, you know, Mom was all he had. Mom and me.

“Anyway, I was gone for five days. I got back on the twentieth. I called Angelina every day, and she seemed to be doing all right. I think she even missed me. She was never big on affection or emotions, but I think she missed me while I was gone.

“She left a few weeks after I got back, you know. I tell myself that my going to the funeral without her had nothing to do with her leaving, but I just can’t quite believe it. It was a real bitch, you know. Losing my mom and then Angelina, both right there together. It was a real bitch.

“But I do know what it was, really, that made Angelina leave. When I got home, she was different. There’d been those murders, you remember, those awful murders? And Angelina was alone, and didn’t know anybody in town, and I know she was afraid; she must have been really afraid. So I got overly protective, and she couldn’t live with that. I didn’t know what else to do; I didn’t know how else to act. She was so important to me, I couldn’t have her out on the streets alone, at least until they’d caught whoever did those . . . I didn’t handle it very well. I’d just lost Mom, and then Angelina was different. I didn’t know what else to do.

“I tried to hold on tight and she slipped away, like soap.

“Like lavender soap.”

7

7

My stomach jittered as if with cold, and even my teeth chattered a bit as I stood, arms crossed, leaning one shoulder against the door jamb as Lewis packed for his trip. He was quiet at first, wiping down the suitcases and shaking out his clothes. I could see him making a mental checklist of what he would take, and I watched silently, thinking it odd that grief-­stricken men should weigh so heavily in my life.