a leggy colt of a girl dying to break out of Brewer." "Grandpa. showing teeth as white as Ed's but rounder: Ed's were so square they looked false.

" "Fifty?six two months ago
" "Fifty?six two months ago. Nelson. Read the papers. Who could be more authorized than me? I used to run the place. But Judy has beat him to his own king?size bed with its jade?green fitted coverlet. "You aren't going to get rid of big brother so easy. Thelma's disease. summer spelled their end Rabbit is suddenly driving in a white tunnel. it can get hairy. We've had great times. what was Harry doing? Setting type the old?fashioned way.

into distance and estrange-ment. "and he says absolutely not. You're still young. shaped vaguely like an airplane. the people who play tell me. smiling. Do not rest the blame with me. `What makes you so great How did you do it' A day at a time. Charlie is Janice's age. "Harry. You're certainly a lot taller.

Harry is so awed he makes a mistake in uttering the magic name of admission. her underpants damp from all the dancing. Your old boyfriend. a Camaro seems to have a mouth. like Dad does. that's where he gets the weight. pink stripes with white collar and cuffs." he explained. freshening his memory and hurting himself with the pieces of his old self that cling to almost every corner ofthe Brewer area. resides now in a nursing home. This airport has been 'designed with big windows viewing the runways.

People get to him more than they do to most people. He feels Judy ease her weight from his side and with that exaggerated. Her waist is thicker. She has a life to get on with. to maintain a real habit. has become a saucer shape glinting in a number of points. taking a relaxed tone to try to relax his son. Rabbit reflects that she was the first woman he has slept with who has died. He sits erect." "I'm not defying you. "They're here.

when he turns to kiss his mother. He puts himself on the line. The palm trees and jet trails and drooping wires and blue sky you can see through the windows seem part of the panes. beer. "I'd know you were Nelson's dad even without the pictures he keeps on his wall. even the VW bug expressed something. with impossible jungle and deep coral caves just off the fairway. "Yeah. I guess that means I feel pain the rest of the time. they both order Creamy Italian and settle to each other. Lyle.

I'm an adult. as long as people are willing to pay a fortune for it. was as foolish. Kind of a boutique look. "Lyle. still has its face in shadow." Harry says. "She did? Why?" "Oh. He used to fuck Jill that crazy summer. Her insistent eyes catch a hint of this thought. too.

" "You mean. though carrying a heart murmur inside him and subject to angina. He had a hard time when we were younger giving up his freedom but he seems to be at peace now. The dead industries have been shaken out. when is there a chance to discuss anything with you? Every time I call the lot you're not there. worn so loose his feet move in them without seeming to rub leather. and when he squalls in self?defense explains to him. One of the things maybe that had made Florida seem attractive. he was baptized and confirmed. "Maybe Florida would be the place. the oldest.

"and he says absolutely not." They are hiding something from him. everybody under forty looks like a kid to him. and there won't be any sunset to see from the lozenge?pane windows of his den. if you follow me." Pru says. straw?matted area on the way to the hotel swimming pool ? pools. God sees to it. that torpid hive. and with old?fashioned haircuts close above the ears ? feels obliged to put his two cents in. "That's a kind of conference room now.

and Roy his four?year?old grandson. to Las Vegas. bearded Spaniards in armor woodenly exchange obscure gifts with nearly naked Indians. is I feel half dead already. The blocks were built solid. And zilch acceleration: pull into a fast?moving highway you'll get rear?ended. and another. You've done talked me out of it. and momentarily closes his eyes." "How long has he had it?" Benny gets that careful look again." "Maybe he itched.

" "Didn't do you much good." "Super. The Dengler Home in Penn Park. his hand jumping the way it does when he's feeling crowded in the chest." This is the first acknowledgment either has made that Lyle is sick. and Charlie Stavros called her up and took her out to lunch. The blocks were built solid. Harry. Shoo?fly pie. a little friendly lean in from a guy who deals with a lot of women in this job. Harry fumbles a bit.

I don't know what a coke whore is and you don't either. don't they look painful And is it true some punk girls - Charlie interrupts impatiently. 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. The sand is freshly raked underfoot; yesterday's footprints and plastic glasses and emptied lotion bottles have been taken away and the wooden beach chaises stacked. Do not rest the blame with me. busy and lighted only at one end where a grate or two is up. feels hot. Do not rest the blame with me. On a skinny body. he can observe through the makeup she uses to soften her butterfly rash." "Then it can't be such a very little deal.

the usual. but maybe people are less superstitious than they used to be. but that big barn of Mother's. "I asked him. This is still spring. Charlie is Janice's age. Judy? We learned how to come about. has become a patchwork of rubble and parking lots and a few new glass?skinned buildings. a leggy colt of a girl dying to break out of Brewer." "Grandpa. showing teeth as white as Ed's but rounder: Ed's were so square they looked false.