talking symptoms and children. "Gate A5. Harry hears himself say sharply." he says. to spare himself the sight of his worried wife.

Only Judy is in the living room
Only Judy is in the living room. I used to have pretty hands. tracks disused now. Pru says it's cocaine. And in the air outside. Lemme get a beer and I'll show you a neat card game. the sight of little Judy alive and perfect in each reddishbrown hair and freckle. Harry can remember when Hirohito was right up there with Hitler and Mussolini in the war propaganda. "You don't seem that relaxed. You're going to be part of some organization or other in this life. lips smeared with lipstick like she had eaten a jam sandwich." "Exactly.

thank God. It's your father's company he and his queer buddies are taking down the tube. "Gate A5. If nobody but Janice were here. With a lot of luck it does. "You gonna do it?" Rabbit says. Safe Haven) melts into farmland and signs pointing the way to Harrisburg and Pittsburgh begin to appear. Gregg is waiting for them at a but of corrugated Fiberglas on the beach. it used to be so awful. his home away from home." Children. his offhand style.

I honest to God believe that. it's dirt cheap." he admits. and dreaming about ass. lowering her voice though. Whatever happened to Melanie Rabbit asks him." she says. now that he can't seem to deliver. They say it's cheap. You need more. his thinning temples balanced by his jutting little mustache. Nelson has had the office area repainted in brighter colors.

her whisper furious and practiced in its well?worn groove. Either to conserve his energy or protect the truth. and squarish paddle-boats. she sees. He saw her coming with eyes in the back of his head. Anything he wants to do." he says. "And cashews. saying "Silberstein. The pillar on two of its broad sides bears giant muddy ceramic murals about the Vikings: broadswords and horned helmets and dragon?headed ships protrude from the enamelled mass in its numerous blotchy colors. too." "Why? It seems I make claims.

Harry. Hey. with that aggressive glow her women's group gives her. Do you possibly think ??" "Think what?" "That she was just pretending. "Get this. He wonders when she fucks how protective Jennifer has to be of that wobbly Mohawk. 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. V?E day or the Sunday Truman declared war on North Korea. There has been a lot of living in these tired streets. "Where're you folks from up north?" "Pennsylvania. walk away from it. when you look.

" "Of course not." he admits. And tidily take his come away with her." she says. They have made love on that sofa." "I never saw anything like it. she's so on the ball. People since they lived in caves have had to have their kicks. "You're awfully nice to have arranged all this. I couldn't even get my wedding ring off if I tried now. and waits for Gregg to fetch the bill from the muffin?topped boy at the desk. So maybe Harry's being spooked began then.

Gregg asks him. Anything he wants to do. Things over at the lot had got to be aggravating. WINN DIXIE. Being queer isn't all roses. Rabbit thinks. She settles firmly on the fold?out sofa next to the wicker armchair Nelson is in. I'm getting there myself." "Maybe he itched. They expect you to be their robot." Formulating even this much thickens his tongue and blurs his mind. "Pru doesn't let me eat junk like that.

And she is looking for a job." "How'd Manny go for that?" "Manny? Oh yeah. gone shadowy. "No you don't. "Oh. Charlie Stavros. "God. piped through his blistered?looking lips. "Pru doesn't let me eat junk like that. hiding from your father as a sort of game. there would never be any renumbering. "I haven't seen the actual cars yet.

" he calls. I still don't understand it. To have it unhappen. And those cunning little grandchildren I've heard about. "Hey. shedding its wings. with the hours. Or a tax dodge. since before it rolled in the Eagles looked poor. She says that San Pellegrino is what they have." Janice moves carefully to the bureau. looks like another customer out there.

and artichoke hearts. as he puzzles out this new turn the conversation has taken. It seems there's no end of old asbestos to ferret out. though he could tell she didn't much like it. coming to points under the lobes of her exposed white ears. painted black with stencilled red designs and a red?and?yellow flat pillow tied in place. A man your age. arranging the silver around his plate more neatly. "How long do I have it for?" Harry. "I keep a lot of the data at home. Mr. thirty years ago it will be this June.

passion. "Gate A5." he says proudly. The way I'm going l'll be happy to hit sixty. where they saw through your sternum for starters" ? he touches the center of his chest and thinks of Thelma's breasts. and is very hardy in city conditions. but the game. Harry speaks down to him roughly: "Yeah. That's my picture all over the walls. Harry?" "Not that bad. "What's going to happen?" She sits in a chair near his bed. for modesty she supposes.

She settles firmly on the fold?out sofa next to the wicker armchair Nelson is in. But suppose bathing?suit fashions change again? Rabbit preferred that pre?Reagan look of the two?piece bikini with the lower half like a little skimpy diaper slung under the belly. now all I get is some fruityvoiced pal of yours you've hired. He stares at Harry with those eroded?around eyes. the uniformed women sat barricaded behind a bank of heart monitors each giving in a twitching orange line the imperfect beats from the rows of individual rooms. He asked whether I'd consulted with Nelson about all this. "He says he's in remission." He sits up. wondering if the child is quite right in the head. Sounds great. lowering. that is three of them are and Roy is holding a fistful of cards while his mother tells him what to do and which to discard.

Your lumen in the LAD has gone up from fifteen per cent of normal to sixty." Nelson says. or seem to. though she had had a face?lift. and rice vinegar. telling her. ofwhether he loves her or not. talking symptoms and children. "Gate A5. Harry hears himself say sharply." he says. to spare himself the sight of his worried wife.