|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The woman turned sharply. "Should it be?" That strange intensity was back in her eyes. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"No, I mean, some people find it a liability." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Not at all," she said, flashing her facsimile smile. Then she stepped out. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Terry closed the door, feeling puzzled, as if something else had just been exchanged. She showed the other guest room and bath. Mrs. Manning gave cursory glances, checked her watch, then followed Terry into the office, which, because of the huge twin skylights, was the brightest room in the house. Terry pushed open a window and warm air flooded in. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mrs. Manning peered out. "So very quiet." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"We almost never see cars on the street." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Boston was only ten miles away, but they could have been living in Aroostook County, Maine. Because of the woods, their neighborhood felt sealed off. The only hint of civilization was the barking of the Starkeys' German shepherd on Hutchinson. Some days the tranquility was so stark that Terry craved the din of the outside world. A few weeks ago a DPW crew was down the street working on some kind of feasibility study for a town sewer. Instead of annoyance, the drilling and jackhammering were a relief from the constipated hush. When one of the workers, a big blond guy, later dropped by to fill his thermos, Terry was so grateful for the company, she had to restrain her gabbiness so as not to give the wrong impression. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mrs. Manning scanned the two desksCalvin's neat piles of student papers and Terry's stacked with bills. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"What do you do?" Mrs. Manning asked. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It was a question she hated, because simple motherhood never seemed valid. For seven years she had taught art at Carleton High until Matty started grade school. Once they moved, she intended to find another job, maybe with a newspaper; and the NYPI Office of Personnel had promised to help place her. She glanced at the desk photo of Matty in his number 11 Devil Dogs shirt. "Just raising my son." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"And your husband is a professor of English." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The birthmark again flared. "Well, you must have mentioned it," she said. "I'm not psychic." |
|
|
|
|
|