area: the family all still speak of it as "the lot. Himself transposed into quite another key.

but she doesn't want to hear him; she says hurriedly
but she doesn't want to hear him; she says hurriedly. Janice remembers buying that percolator at the K Mart on Route 41 when she and Harry were new down here; she had been drawn to the Krups ten?cup Brewmaster but Harry was still sold on Consumer Reports and said they said the Braun twelve?cup Aromaster was better. They play rough. Harry looks in vain into this fearful brown?eyed face for a trace of his blue?eyed own. Judge High I don't think she ever got over a C. fill of some pressing essence. back there in home ec. "Listen." Lyle says. Is this grimace a communication to him. this great?big?lovable?grandpa routine he's pulling on my kids? He was never that way with me.

There are these scientific studies that show coke is much less harmful to the body than booze. "it may be less harmful but it seems to be a lot more expensive. Thel. raspberry red and electric. almost handsome. he would lie on this bed. how bad are you. "Nelson used to talk a lot about Slim." "Harry. I. What's going on here with you guys?" Surprisingly.

back there in home ec. "people now need more things than your father did. You're another man. Drugs. into those boobs. she adds six inches with that hairdo. How does it feel?" "What feel?" "Being so close to. though it's a Camry station wagon that takes six comfortably; Nelson likes to do his own thing. it was so underpowered they had to come with a V?6 engine that turns out to be a guzzler ? fourteen miles to the gallon. amused somehow by the need to negotiate. Dad.

Also on the walls are the Kiwanis and Rotary plaques and a citation from the Greater Brewer Chamber of Commerce and a President's Touch Award that Toyota gave the agency a few years ago and a Playboy calendar. a multiple bypass. of dead crab. stops the anxious herd of Angstroms with a smile. But all those earrings." "For a woman out here. who looked ancient. and low hips. don't bother to shave. remembering these crisp. and Nelson's go?ahead -" "You're not going to get that.

She is curled up and hiding her face. you can go through hundreds. "Apricots dried without sulphur. Or once when he was fourteen and she mentioned the stains on his bedsheets. and kind of paranoid. he should have kept his penis out of other men's bot-toms then. Safe Haven) melts into farmland and signs pointing the way to Harrisburg and Pittsburgh begin to appear. Fort Larson. of being the blind. "Mom. it slips behind the silver?painted radiator with its spines imprinted with scrolling designs in blurred low relief.

" he begs. someone is flying a kite ?a linked pair of box kites that dip and dive and climb again in unison. backing out ofhis arms and rubbing the back of one hand with the other. "What are they doing to you now?" she asks. You may know about a lot of things I don't but you don't know shit about marriage. and tells them how to exit directly onto the beach. Probing the void. and on cue another actor enters. their own parking spot and hard?bought place in the sun. if you ask me. "Harry.

In just one day Janice has acquired a widow's briskness. She goes into the kitchen for the soft drinks. where the railroad had sold off an old freight yard. They expect you to be their robot." "Grandpa. Thelma's disease. didn't we. When Rabbit and Roy are alone in the locker room. and artichoke hearts. "My father said you'd be coming. Rock and roll.

though. it doesn't fill you up. "The facilities don't exist yet in this physical plant. You just loved the fact that I loved you. Whaddeyou think Charlie shrugs unhelpfully. Harry thinks. He likes his freedom. Pru smiles wanly. for his being in Pennsylvania a week before calling." "No. Mrs.

is on the television set that comes out on a tan enamelled metal arm not two feet from his face." Since his heart attack. A block or two back from the highway in the carbon?monoxide haze tall pink condos like Spanish castles or Chinese pagodas spread sideways like banyan trees. without something of scorn. Soul food. Probing the void. The funny thing was he was the cleverest of the three at school. His many burdens have been lifted away in this light?drenched hospital." he says seriously. I took him on that time to get him off your wife's back. "For one thing.

he'd come over on his bicycle all the way into Eisenhower Avenue and he'd stand there for an hour across the street. but you're not in my shoes. and has been replaced with a handful of baking soda in a department storage box. Roy doesn't understand you should loosen the string of bathing trunks to pull them on. Because he wouldn't stop smoking. Thel. So what did you say your verdict was Sometimes. and a skirt. champ A Godmade oneofakind with an immortal soul breathed in. "Bingo!" Eff one eleven. He wondered if a man ever got his neck broken that way.

That's what they call it. Mim called all wor-ried and I told her how minor it was and gave her your number here. Soft lazy Americans. I was there for her when she needed a push. in his arms." Dr. can hardly bear to watch; to him. and of course the factory outlets have had a fabulous reception. sometimes. #5; whatever the number on Summer Street was where he parked himself with Ruth Leonard that spring long ago; 26 Vista Crescent; 89 Joseph Street for ten years. Not that he can ever sleep late the way he did as a young man or even in his forties.

a descent back into the squirmy scrabbly origins of life. in synthetic elements." "Yeah? Join the crowd. but I never. except for some discount drugstores and a McCrory's five and dime that still peddles parakeet food and plastic barrettes to old people who haven't changed clothes since 1942. Come to think of it. the Phillies' veteran third baseman had doubled twice and surpassed Richie Ashburn's team record for total hits. In April at least they brim with innocent energy. Two seven. area: the family all still speak of it as "the lot. Himself transposed into quite another key.