in them without seeming to rub leather. and which arrows painted on the floor to follow out of the parking garage.

his voice high and precise
his voice high and precise. He told me I should put new polish on my toenails. Pru and Judy come out of the hotel to join them and they descend concrete steps. had the real taste of it in my mouth. like one of those old?fashioned dolls that would say a little speech when you pulled a string that came out of their backs. back there in home ec. mess with CBS and blot out a TV show the sponsors are paying a million dollars a minute for and millions are watching. so as not to wake Roy or have the nurses hear what she wants to say. By then.

the old?fashioned round kind people used to throw and not the flattened Semtex that terrorists smuggle into suitcases in airplanes. her knees white where they press against the edge. slithering off onto his palm and up his wrist and arm into the sweat pores of his armpit and burrowing into his bloodstream there. most of the time it seems unreal. worn so loose his feet move in them without seeming to rub leather. "He was in Nelson's office ten minutes ago. I could do with some Sominex. and tamari. There.

217 hits to become the hittingest Phillie ever. stuck fast to Janice and her money? I never tried to take you away from her. "Welcome to the real world." "The papers exaggerate. Team owner to pay for Amber's funeral. "You're trying to act and talk like your mother but you and I both know you're not that sharp. I'm an adult. They replaced two valves. He has heard this before: "Why should I risk my life sleeping with you.

and her tired eyes look focused elsewhere. making him think of the pond when Ed's ball skipped in. In a way he preferred it to one of the beds. it hits me. and really is his business. his one daughter died and his other is not his. "My father said you'd be coming. "I've always kind of identified with him. they call them rock.

but Nelson they tell me is really hooked. I'm crazy about it. a tufty brown smudge not much wider than his nose. I want her in on this." the jowly small man cautiously allows. a long light?blocking green shade pulled down over its central pane of bevelled glass. "I think it's a good idea." "Well. is the most steadily depressing.

And tidily take his come away with her." Harry lies. with a streak of defiance as though daring to be damned. the play goes on. printed in photocopy in green ink on rough flecked acidfree paper. It's a big nothing. on a section of the newspaper she folds over to make an insulating pad. Did you lose?" "How'd you guess?" "You always lose. Five minutes is all it takes.

and once wanted to speak not to Nelson but with Harry." Pru says softly. but Harry is not sure this arrangement is still proper. suddenly near tears." "Thanks but no thanks. The Camaro convertible passed in a rush. If I can't have a single beer now and then. When you have rheumatic fever as a kid. so his chauvinism doesn't show.

"How much do I owe you for all this?" Harry asks. only the hair not so thick or so brightly dyed. without even knowing it. Pru looks away. Little Roy is trying to follow the drift of this discussion and removes his thumb enough for his flubby lips to mouth something Rabbit does not understand. This guy's even worse off than 1 am." "Grandpa. ignited by one of its glints. all these details inside him.

The shelves. I'm just trying to act interested. dead Fred Springer. her frank humorous hunger. and a waiting area with a hard wood settee and a coffee table holding magazines titled Modern Health and Woman's Day and The Watchtower and The Monthly Redeemer. and now -""Now. the Florida flatness turning brown as thatch beyond the green reach of a watering system. Did you lose?" "How'd you guess?" "You always lose. A macadamia nut each one nowadays costs about a quarter escapes in Harry's direction and only his quick reflexes prevent it from falling into his lap and staining with salad oil the russet slacks he took out of the cleaner's bag and put on for the first time today.

do you owe him any money? How much?" "Mom. Maybe eventually. the day climbing toward noon and temperatures in the mid?eighties. the mile?long trains of coal cars pulling right across Weiser. so I said maybe he was too sick to be our accountant then. "But even the monthly statements we got in Florida didn't look quite right to me. Downstairs. worn so loose his feet move in them without seeming to rub leather. and which arrows painted on the floor to follow out of the parking garage.