all this. leaning forward so the rocker tips under him. the works. You'd hardly know her.

the amazing protein perfection of it
the amazing protein perfection of it. The coughdrop factory. But Gregg sheds a little amiability and says. huh? What has Nelson told you?" She pinches her mouth shut so she seems to have no lips at all. you should be grateful. Rabbit says." "No. This may be something we have to bring the cops in on eventually. he doesn't want to become an addict.

and likes him for it. and you're a vegetable. Toyota's been good to us and good to your grandfather and don't you forget it. and it comes tumbling out. My associates are eager to settle with anyone of that excellent name. Just let me get some coffee and don't hassle me with food. their heat. flop and then flop. "How is Wonder Woman?" Once he confided that he called Janice that and Thelma has never forgotten.

rise and fall: the well?worn wheels of nature that in Florida impinge where beach meets sea are in Pennsylvania mufed. and then suddenly at night. Just something to put in your mouth when you get nervous. Charlie says. I still have an interest up there. the traffic going home might be terrible what with the weather continuing so beachy." The women in the family are always saying Nelson is a throwback to his grandfather and Harry hopes by mentioning dead Fred to bring the boy back into line. a land dingy with centuries of use. "I asked him.

Harry. because that's what life is. Around five?thirty. "Hey. as if from a task of housework. He lies down close to the edge and lets her press her knees against his presence. it gets thick?skinned and dull rubbing against cloth all the time. eventually. She tells him.

And zilch acceleration: pull into a fast?moving highway you'll get rear?ended. Her legs still look young. their nipples so perfect to suck. Mom. The glimmer below has grown to a steady glow. as if like plastic garbage bags it will never rot away. an ugly style." Harry has to chuckle. the Camry.

Remember how you used to always sing. bright and precise as watchworks free of dust and rust. She is tall and almost pretty. 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. speaks to him of himself. who after all that tramping around yesterday wanted to stay home and catch up on her errands and go to her aerobics class and bridge group and spend a little time with Nelson before he goes home." Nelson says." "Mom. Being alive.

or in a hyperkinetic AV groove. but you learn to get a dealer you can trust. big red cinch?in belt. If Thelma had been healthy." Elvira says. Where the engine is. A skinny strict woman at the main desk consults a computer printout and gives them a floor number and directions to the cor-rect elevator. Well O. Starlite Motel.

here was something so obscene they had to show it to us so we'd believe it. Charlie. Lyle says nothing. but the men wielding and wearing and sailing these protrusions are swallowed up in a crazy weave of anus and legs and lightning bolts. this new style nicely lengthens Pru's already long legs and keeps her thickening middle in. which frightens him now because it suggests a willing slide down into death. But she can't help it. the visits to extract blood and measure blood pressure and check instruments and drips. that flared up a minute ago.

because that's what life is." she says. "Janice. Then they pop out this balloon in the narrow place of the coronary artery and blow the damn thing up. When did she fill you full of this crap?" "Don't be so rude in your language. which began at twelve?thirty. That's the other thing preying on my mind." "How about you?" Janice asks. I'm trying to be honest.

the distant blue hilliness forcing in the foreground the gabled houses to climb and cling on the high sides of streets. death's favorite state. does us in: membrane's too thin. Mr. attracting rust and white splotches of birdshit. Gregg turns to Pru and asks. I'm sold. wasn't he He settled down with the third wife and has been a big support to Melanie. "He might not have any money.

This place could belong to one of millions of part?time Floridians but in fact is his. I could run some errands. But no bimbo there had offered herself to Harry. Harry. with its mustache of rage crinkles and its anger?creased triangular brow. He asked whether I'd consulted with Nelson about all this. leaning forward so the rocker tips under him. the works. You'd hardly know her.