Read Til Death for Free Online

the single light burning in Birnbaum’s attic room, the thin yellow crescent of a moon hanging listlessly over the sharply slanting roof of the house.
    “I told you what had happened to me that night,” Angela said. “About…about the boy I’d dated and…what he’d tried to do.”
    “Yes, I remember”
    “I never told Mama about that,” Angela said. “You were the only one I ever told. And I asked you if this…happened all the time, if this was what I could expect from boys I dated. I wanted to know what to do, how I should behave. Do you remember what you told me?”
    “Yes,” Carella said.
    “You said I should do whatever I felt was right. You said I would know what was right.” She paused. “Steve…I’ve never…”
    “Honey, shall I get Mama?”
    “No, I want to talk to you. Steve, I don’t know what to do tonight. I know that’s awfully silly, I’m twenty-three years old, I should know what to do, but I don’t, and I’m terrified he won’t love me any more, he’ll be disappointed, he’ll—”
    “Shhh, shhh,” he said. “Come on now. What do you want?”
    “I want you to tell me.”
    He looked into her eyes and he took her hands and said, “I can’t do that, Slip.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because you’re not a baby in cotton slips any more, and you’re not a little girl who’s suddenly puzzled by her first kiss. You’re a woman, Angela. And there isn’t a man alive who can give a woman instructions about love. I don’t think you’ll need them, honey. I really don’t think you’ll need them.”
    “You think it’ll…be all right?”
    “I think it’ll be fine. But I also think you’d better start dressing. Otherwise you’ll miss your own wedding.”
    Angela nodded glumly.
    “Come on,” he said. “You’re going to be the prettiest goddamn bride this neighborhood ever had.” He hugged her, rose, and started for the door.”
    “Was…was Teddy frightened?” Angela asked.
    “I’m going to give you one bit of brotherly advice,” Carella said. “I won’t tell you whether Teddy was frightened or puzzled or innocent or whatever. I won’t tell you because marriage is a private thing, Angela, built on faith more than anything else. And whatever happens between you and Tommy—tonight or forever—you and he will be the only two people to ever know about it. And that’s one of the frightening things about marriage…but it’s also pretty damn reassuring.” He went back to the bed, and he took her hands again, and he said, “Angela, you have nothing to worry about. He loves you so much he’s trembling. He loves you, honey. He’s a good man. You chose well.”
    “I love him, too, Steve. I do. Only—”
    “Only nothing. What the hell do you want? A written guarantee that life is just a bowl of cherries? Well, it isn’t. But you’ve got a clean slate, and you can write your own ticket. And, honey, you’re starting with one of the major ingredients.” He grinned. “You can’t miss.”
    “Okay,” she said, and she nodded her head emphatically.
    “You going to get dressed?”
    “Yes.”
    “Good.”
    “Okay,” she said again, more emphatically. She paused. “But I think you’re a louse for not giving me at least one hint!”
    “I’m not a louse. I’m a loving brother.”
    “I feel better, Steve. Thank you.”
    “For what? Get dressed. Your blue garter is very pretty.”
    “Go to hell,” she said, and he closed the door behind him, chuckling.
    The boy’s name was Ben Darcy.
    He was twenty-six years old, with bright blue eyes and an engaging grin. He wore a blue mohair suit, and he walked across the back lawn with a long-legged lope, coming to a stop before the back porch where Tony Carella sat with his guests.
    “Hello, Mr. Carella,” he said. “Lots of activity going on. Are you excited?”
    “The caterers,” Tony said, looking out across the lawn at what seemed to be miles of white tablecloth. “You’re early, Ben. The reception doesn’t