One Last Lie by Rob Kaufman Page A

legs, the cold suddenly penetrating her thin bones. She had a sudden thought of her mother, wondering what Mom was doing at that moment: baking pies, reading a book by the wood burning stove? Was she thinking of June as June so often thought of her? Waiting for the words to come out of Angela’s mouth, June wanted nothing more than to once again share that comforting silence with her mother.
    “I’ve been thinking about having a baby.” Angela turned to June. “And I need your help.”
    June took the warm Budweiser from the side table and slugged a mouthful. The scratching effervescence felt good going down.
    “I might not be a woman of the world, Angie, but I do know you need a man to help you have a baby.” She looked down to her lap. “I’m not equipped to help you with something like that,” she said, giggling at her own joke.
    Angela’s change of expression caused a sharp tremble deep within June’s solar plexus. It was as though another face appeared on Angela’s body: a countenance with narrow, beady eyes, a bulb-shaped protuberance of a nose, a slit for a mouth, and fat, red cheeks. June wondered if this was what Angela looked like before she lost weight. Although the face frightened her, for a moment she felt a stab of relief that Angela too had been homely most of her life. For the first time since they met, June felt as though they were on an even playing field.
    “You stupid shit!” Angela spewed.
    June envisioned flames flaring from Angela’s nostrils. She curled the blanket deeper into her fists. The playing field was no longer even.
    “Do you think this is a fucking joke? Is my life a fucking joke to you?” Angela reached behind her head and seized a pill bottle from the built-in bookshelf. Her scowl turned more threatening as she rattled the vial with a punishing shake.
    “After all I’ve done for you, this is the God damn thanks I get?” She looked at the bottle in her hand. “One word to hospital security and they’ll take you out in handcuffs. You know that, right? And don’t think you can blame anything on me. My tracks are covered. I’ve made sure of that, you little shit.”
    June’s face froze. It was just a joke, for God’s sake, and now her job was being threatened. She couldn’t bring herself to look up again and see the anger on Angela’s face. But she didn’t need to. She heard the fury in Angela’s breathing, like a bull in the ring, stamping its hoof and puffing out air through oversized nostrils. Something wasn’t right here. Angela was like a time bomb on the verge of exploding and June was sitting directly in her path. Not a good place to be.
    She picked at the label on the beer bottle with her thumbnail, her thoughts fleeing to her bathroom medicine cabinet and her Klonopin on the top shelf. She tried not to take those too often, letting a Xanax, or two, or three, get her through an episode. Tonight she’d need something a lot stronger to keep her anxiety at bay.
    “Angela, I’m sorry.” Her voice fluttered. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just kidding around.” A piece of the beer bottle label peeled off and fell into her lap. She twirled it between her thumb and forefinger. “You never mentioned it before, so I didn’t know how important this was to you. I’m sorry.”
    Angela’s face changed like a werewolf turning back into a human being. The air of evil seemed to dissipate and fall between the slats of the wood floor.
    “Well, it is important, June.” She placed the vial back onto the bookshelf. “Especially because I’m going to be hitting the big 4-0 soon. If I want a child, I really have to do it now.”
    June knew this was a perfect time to ingratiate herself; she needed Angela as much as Angela appeared to need her. She grabbed Angela’s hand. “How can I help?”
    “Well, since there’s no one special in my life right now, it looks like marriage any time soon is a far-fetched fantasy.” She cut June off with a wave of her