You Were Wrong (21 page)

She slowly raised her thin white arms. He pulled the shirt above her head and past the thing in her hand. She was naked to the waist. Her breasts had swollen up to twice the size they’d been last spring. Light blue veins ran like subterranean springs beneath their skin and the taut skin of her round abdomen, implying the secret web of life within. He tried to clean her face with her shirt but only smeared it. He dropped the shirt and pulled her gently to him.

“Whose blood is it?”

“You know.”

“Say it.”

“You’re somebody’s stepfather now.”

“What?”

“I’ve killed him—finally.”

“Where?”

“There.”

“Is he definitely—”

“If he isn’t now he will be soon. Look.”

“Oh, right. What do you mean, ‘finally’? When did you—”

“Are you ever gonna kiss me, really kiss me? Oh yes, my beautiful man, oh Karl!”

“Oh Sylvia, Sylvia! Drop the knife!”

“Okay!”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you, Ben Adams, Kent Alexander, Michele Araujo, Michelle Blankenship, Gabriel Brownstein, Lisa Cohen, Conrad Cummings, Susan Dupré, Leslie Falk, Bram Gunther, Fawn Krieger, Neil Levi, Robin Coste Lewis, Carrie Majer, PJ Mark, David McCormick, Peter Miller, Lydia Millet, Richard Nash, Laura Phillips, Sylvie Rabineau, Allen Ross, Steve Ross, Sergio Santos, Lore Segal, Carole Sharpe, Myron Sharpe, Susanna Sharpe, Adam Simon, Kimberly Standiford, Les Standiford, Jacqueline Steiner, Lambert Strether, Bob Sullivan, Greg Villepique, Dan Wakefield

A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR

Matthew Sharpe is the author of the novels
Jamestown
,
The Sleeping Father
, and
Nothing Is Terrible
. He lives in New York City.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

Jamestown

The Sleeping Father

Nothing Is Terrible

Stories from the Tube

Copyright © 2010 by Matthew Sharpe

Note: The reader is encouraged not to rely on this or any work of fiction for the historical truth about persons, places, things, events, songs, trees, etc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address Bloomsbury USA, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

Published by Bloomsbury USA, New York

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Sharpe, Matthew
You were wrong : a novel / Matthew Sharpe.—1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-60819-187-1 (hardcover)
I. Title.
PS3569.H3444Y68 2010
813'.54—dc22
2009052210

First published in the United States by Bloomsbury USA in 2010
This e-book edition published in 2010

E-book ISBN: 978-1-60819-485-8

www.bloomsburyusa.com