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Positive。 Why; do the numbers show some sign of possible exposure?〃
〃If you haven't been exposed; then they couldn't very well show a sign; could they?〃
'Then we agree;〃 I said。
〃Tell me this; Mr。 Gladney; in all honesty。 How do you feel?〃
〃To the best of my knowledge; I feel very well。 First…rate。 I feel better than I have in years; relatively speaking。〃
〃What do you mean; relatively speaking?〃
〃Given the fact I'm older now。〃
He looked at me carefully。 He seemed to be trying to stare me down。 Then he made a note on my record。 I might have been a child facing the school principal over a series of unexcused absences。
I said; 〃How can we tell whether the elevation is true or false?〃
〃I will send you to Glassboro for further tests。 Would you like that? There is a brand…new facility called Autumn Harvest Farms。 They have gleaming new equipment。 You won't be disappointed; wait and see。 It gleams; absolutely。〃
〃All right。 But is potassium the only thing we have to watch?〃
〃The less you know; the better。 Go to Glassboro。 Tell them to delve thoroughly。 No stone unturned。 Tell them to send you back to me with sealed results。 I will analyze them down to the smallest detail。 I will absolutely pick them apart。 They have the know…how at Harvest Farms; the most delicate of instruments; I promise you。 The best of third…world technicians; the latest procedures。〃
His bright smile hung there like a peach on a tree。
〃Together; as doctor and patient; we can do things that neither of us could do separately。 There is not enough emphasis on prevention。 An ounce of prevention; goes the saying。 Is this a proverb or a maxim? Surely professor can tell us。〃
〃I'll need time to think about it。〃
〃In any case; prevention is the thing; isn't it? I've just seen the latest issue of American Mortician。 Quite a shocking picture。 The industry is barely adequate to acmodating the vast numbers of dead。〃
Babette was right。 He spoke English beautifully。 I went home and started throwing things away。 I threw away fishing lures; dead tennis balls; torn luggage。 I ransacked the attic for old furniture; discarded lampshades; warped screens; bent curtain rods。 I threw away picture frames; shoe trees; umbrella stands; wall brackets; highchairs and cribs; collapsible TV trays; beanbag chairs; broken turntables。 I threw away shelf paper; faded stationery; manuscripts of articles I'd written; galley proofs of the same articles; the journals in which the articles were printed。 The more things I threw away; the more I found。 The house was a sepia maze of old and tired things。 There was an immensity of things; an overburdening weight; a connection; a mortality。 I stalked the rooms; flinging things into cardboard boxes。 Plastic electric fans; burnt…out toasters; Star Trek needlepoints。 It took well over an hour to get everything down to the sidewalk。 No one helped me。 I didn't want help or pany or human understanding。 I just wanted to get the stuff out of the house。 I sat on the front steps alone; waiting for a sense of ease and peace to settle in the air around me。
A woman passing on the street said; 〃A decongestant; an antihistamine; a cough suppressant; a pain reliever。〃
35
Babette could not get enough of talk radio。 〃I hate my face;〃 a woman said。 'This is an ongoing problem with me for years。 Of all the faces you could have given me; lookswise; this one has got to be the worst。 But how can I not look? Even if you took all my mirrors away; I would still find a way to look。 How can I not look on the one hand? But I hate it on the other。 In other words I still look。 Because whose face is it; obviously? What do I do; forget it's there; pretend it's someone else's? What I'm trying to do with this call; Mel; is find other people who have a problem accepting their face。 Here are some questions to get us started。 What did you look like before you were born? What will you look like in the afterlife; regardless of race or color?〃
Babette wore her sweatsuit almost all the time。 It was a plain gray outfit; loose and drooping。 She cooked in it; drove the kids to school; wore it to the hardware store and the stationer's。 I thought about it for a while; decided there was nothing excessively odd in this; nothing to worry about; no reason to believe she was sinking into apathy and despair。
〃How do you feel?〃 I said。 'Tell the truth。〃
〃What is the truth? I'm spending more time with Wilder。 Wilder helps me get by。〃
〃I depend on you to be the healthy outgoing former Babette。 I need this as badly as you do; if not more。〃
〃What is need? We all need。 Where is the uniqueness in this?〃
〃Are you feeling basically the same?〃
〃You mean am I sick unto death? The fear hasn't gone; Jack。〃
〃We have to stay active。〃
〃Active helps but Wilder helps more。〃
〃Is it my imagination;〃 I said; 〃or is he talking less than ever?〃
'There's enough talk。 What is talk? I don't want him to talk。 The less he talks; the better。〃
〃Denise worries about you。〃
〃Who?〃
〃Denise。〃
〃Talk is radio;〃 she said。
Denise would not let her mother go running unless she promised to apply layers of sunscreen gel。 The girl would follow her out of the house to dash a final glob of lotion across the back of Babette's neck; then stand on her toes to stroke it evenly in。 She tried to cover every exposed spot。 The brows; the lids。 They had bitter arguments about the need for this。 Denise said the sun was a risk to a fair…skinned person。 Her mother claimed the whole business was publicity for disease。
〃Besides; I'm a runner;〃 she said。 〃A runner by definition is less likely to be struck by damaging rays than a standing or walking figure。〃
Denise spun in my direction; arms flung out; her body beseeching me to set the woman straight。
'The worst rays are direct;〃 Babette said。 〃This means the faster a person is moving; the more likely she is to receive only partial hits; glancing rays; deflections。〃
Denise let her mouth fall open; bent her body at the knees。 In truth I wasn't sure her mother was wrong。
〃It is all a corporate tie…in;〃 Babette said in summa