Read an Excerpt
The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon
By Sara Beitia
Flux Pulishers
Copyright © 2010 Sara Beitia
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7387-2068-5
Chapter One
7:45 p.m.
Albert Morales sits on the curb with his head down between his knees, trying to breathe. He waits for his heart to stop pounding so they can get moving again. Olivia Odilon is nearby, just across the street—a slim shadow concealed by the dark arch of a restaurant entryway right next to an empty newsstand. Albert looks up briefly and sees her eyes across the way, two shining chips of glass reflecting the harsh glow of the streetlight. Albert doesn't really believe in God but he prays anyway, in a sweaty ecstasy of desperation, that he won't have a full-on asthma attack. Now that he needs it, the inhaler he uses on very rare occasions is several hundred miles back, sitting on top of his dresser along with, as he recalls, his only necktie, the MP3 player he'd received for Christmas, about three dollars in change, and a snapshot of his girlfriend Lily. Lily, who also happens to be long gone.
No point thinking about that.
After a moment he tries a tentative breath, then, finding that he can, he pulls another one down into his lungs, exhaling gratefully and taking in another deep drink of air.
It's good.
It's difficult, but he pushes the panic he's feeling out of his mind, instead concentrating completely on catching his breath. He can hear Olivia's feet scraping impatiently at the pavement like a restless animal. He lifts his arm and raises a finger to let her know he just needs another moment.
Albert opens his eyes and sees a small something between his sneakers in the gutter. Without thinking, he reaches down to grab whatever it is, and comes up with a damp matchbox in his fingers. He shakes it. Empty. On one side is a tiny picture of woman wearing a sly smile and not much else; Albert flips the box over and sees that it comes from a place called the Alibi in a city called New Salisbury.
"Whatcha got there?"
He looks up and sees that Olivia has crossed the street and now stands in front of him. He tosses the empty matchbox up and she catches it between her hands. "From some bar or strip club, I guess."
She reads the thing, then laughs softly. "Wish we had an alibi right now?"
He stands, not answering. "I think I'm okay now. Let's go."
The two of them set out again, down the deserted street on their way to Lily.
Excerpted from The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon by Sara Beitia Copyright © 2010 by Sara Beitia. Excerpted by permission of Flux Pulishers. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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