Authors: Robert Masello
Vigil (47 page)
“It’s not that bad,” Carter said. “Maybe you should just go to sleep.”
“Just a crack. I’m dying for some fresh air.”
He glanced at the window and saw that it was the kind that opened with a crank. With his free hand, he took hold of the handle and opened the window just a few inches.
“Oh, that’s nice,” Beth said, pushing the sheet down from her shoulders. “I can breathe.”
Carter gently rocked the baby, who stirred in his arms. Across the avenue, high on a steel beam of the Villager Co-ops, he thought he saw some movement.
A construction worker, way up there, at this hour? In the dark?
The baby cried, and Beth put out her arms. Carter gave him back, then bent down and planted a kiss on Beth’s forehead. Her skin was still warm. She purred softly, her eyes closed.
“Get some sleep,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Then, he turned to peer out the window one more time, his eyes lingering on the black steel skeleton of the building across the way.
But now he saw no sign of anyone there. It must have been a trick of the moonlight before.
Not wanting to leave a draft in the room, he started to close the window, but Beth murmured, “Oh, leave it open—the sound is so pretty.”
What sound?
Carter thought. And then he heard it, too.
Carter thought. And then he heard it, too.
Bells. Church bells, ringing, off in the distance. He glanced at his watch; it was about a quarter past ten. Most of the city was dark.
He lowered the blinds, and when he looked back at the bed, Beth and the baby were fast asleep.
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