Wait for me.
“I said hands,” the guard barks right in my ear.
Hands. I let go of her hands. The past is no longer important; the future is a possibility. I cannot feel the emptiness anymore – I cannot feel what isn’t there. She smiles. This is the first real smile she’s given me today. Maybe the first real smile she’s given anyone in a long time. It seems to shatter a thin veneer of sadness that’s accumulated on her face. I can see all of her hidden beauty, its secret kept from the needy, predatory world.
Acknowledgments
THANK YOU:
The crew at Wolsak & Wynn Publishers and Buckrider Books:
Paul Vermeersh
Noelle Allen
Emily Dockrill Jones
Ashley Hisson
Joe Stacey
Designer Michel Vrana
My literary agent, Chris Bucci
Friends and family:
Stacey Madden
Danila Botha
Neil Sharma
Laura Bydlowska
Russell Smith
Erin Kobayashi
Tim Rostron
Sheila Heti
Joseph Boyden
The Ontario Arts Council
and the Canada Council for the Arts
About the Author
Jowita Bydlowska was born in Warsaw, Poland, and moved to Canada as a teen. She is the author of the bestselling memoir Drunk Mom. A journalist and fiction writer, she lives in Toronto, Canada.
Also by Jowita Bydlowska
Drunk Mom: A Memoir
Praise
“Guy is devastating and hilarious. It’s brutal and destructive and life-affirming. It’s a must-read. Jowita Bydlowska isn’t just one of this nation’s bravest writers, she’s one of our best.”
“Being Guy felt horrifically natural, as if he stepped right out my own debased, politically incorrect sex fantasy. This book is unputdownable, full of sly, modern details that made me laugh and grimace right into the twist ending.”
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, places and events portrayed are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead; events or locales is entirely coincidental.
© Jowita Bydlowska, 2016
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a license from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.
Buckrider Books is an imprint of Wolsak and Wynn Publishers.
Cover image: istockphoto.com
Cover and interior design: Michel Vrana
Author photograph: Russell Smith
Typeset in Sabon LT
Printed by Ball Media, Brantford, Canada
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Book Fund.
Buckrider Books
280 James Street North
Hamilton, ON
Canada L8R 2L3
Cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada.
ISBN 978-1-928088-23-3 (print)
ISBN 978-1-928088-36-3 (epub)
ISBN 978-1-928088-39-4 (mobi)
ISBN 978-1-928088-40-0 (ePDF)