How do you want to cook this fish? How do you want to cook this fish? Harris asked.
What?
Claire heard: How do you want to cook this fish?
Breaded, she said.
Fine, Harris said.
What?
Fine!
We have not slept together for three hundred nights, she thought. We have not slept together for three hundred nights.
His rough, tender hands not ed around me.
Lawnmower. His rough, tender hands ed around the handles of the lawnmower. Not around me.
What?
Where did you hide the bread crumbs?
What?
The bread crumbs!
Behind the Cheerios!
Claire telephoned her mother. Her mothers sel was broccoli, mostly, but who else was she going to talk to?
What?
You have to be optimistic. Be be be. Optimistic.
What?
Optimistic, her mother said, they gh phases. As they get older. They have less toleranonotony.
Im monotony?
They gh phases. As they grow older. They like to think that their futures are ahead of them. This is ludicrous, of course --
Oh oh oh oh.
Ludicrous, of course, but I have never yet met one who didnt think that way until he got played out then they sink into a fortable lassitude take to wearing those horrible old-geezer hats. . .
What?
Hats with the green plastic bills, golf hats or whatever they are --
Harris, Claire said to her husband, youve stopped watering the plants.
What?
Youve stopped watering the plants my mother always said that wheopped watering the plants that was a sure sign of an impending marital breakup.
Your mother reads too much.
What?
Sarah decided that she and Harris should not sleep together any longer.
Harris said, What about hugging?
What?
Hugging.
Sarah said that she would have a ruling on hugging in a few days and that he should stand by for further information. She pulled the black lace mantilla down to veil her face as they left the empty church.
I have dohe right thing the right thing. I am right.
Claire came in wearing her brown coat and carrying a large broer bag. Look what I got! she said excitedly.
What? Harris said.
She reached into the bag and pulled out a smeary plastic tray with six frozen shell steaks on it. The steaks looked like they had died in the eenth tury.
Six dollars! Claire said. This guy came into the laundromat and said he was making deliveries to restaurants and some of the restaurants already had all the steaks they needed and now he had these left over and they were only six dollars. Six dollars.
You spent six dollars on these?
Other people bought some too.
Diseased, stolen steaks?
He was wearing a white coat, Claire said. He had a truck.
Ill bet he had a truck.
Harris went to see Madam Olympia, a reader and advisor. Her office was one room in a bad part of the city. Chi wings burned in a frying pan oove. She got up and turhem off, then got up and turhem on again. She was wearing a t-shirt that had "Buffalo, City of No Illusions" printed on it.
Tell me about yourself, she said.
My life is hell, Harris said. He sketched the circumstances.
I am bored to tears with this sort of thing, Madam Olympia said. To tears to tears.
Well, Harris said, me too.
Woman wakes up in the middle of the night, Madam Olympia said, she goes, what you thinkin about? You go, the float. She goes, is the float makin us mon