Free In the Midst of Death by Lawrence Block Page A

not have to say anything after that, and neither did I.

    A little later we were sitting as before, she on the couch, I on my chair. She was sippingunspiked coffee, and I had a glass of straight bourbon that I'd finished a little more than half of. We were talking quietly and we stopped our conversation when footsteps sounded on the stairs. A girl about ten years old entered the room. She looked like her mother.

    She said, "Mommy, me and Jennifer want to- "

    "Jennifer and I."

    The child sighed theatrically. "Mommy, Jennifer and I want to watch Fantastic Voyage and Eric is being a pig and wants to watch The Flintstones and me and Jennifer I mean Jennifer and I hate The Flintstones."

    "Don't call Eric a pig."

    "I didn't call Eric a pig. I just said he was being a pig."

    "I suppose there's a difference. You and Jennifer can watch your program in my room. Is that what you wanted?"

    "Why doesn't Eric watch in your room? After all, Mommy, he's watching our set in our room."

    "I don't want Eric alone in my room."

    "Well, me and Jennifer don't want him alone in our room, Mommy, and- "

    "Sara- "

    "Okay. We'll watch in your room."

    "Sara, this is Mr. Scudder."

    "Hello, Mr. Scudder. Can I go now, Mommy?"

    "Go ahead."

    When the child had disappeared up the staircase, her mother let out a long, low-pitched whistle. "I don't know what on earthis the matter with me ," she said. "I've never done anything like that before. I don't mean I've been a saint. I was … last year there was someone I was involved with.But in my own house, God, and with my children at home. Sara could have walked right in on us. I'd never have heard her."
    She smiled suddenly. "I wouldn't have heard World War Three. You're a sweet man, Matthew. I don't know how this happened, but I am not going to make excuses for it. I'm glad it happened."

    "So am I."

    "Do you know that you still haven't spoken my name? All you've called me is Mrs.Broadfield ."

    I'd said her name once aloud and many times silently. But I said it again now. "Diana."

    "That's much better."

    "Diana, goddess of the moon."

    "And of the hunt."

    "Of the hunt, too?I just knew about the moon."

    "I wonder if it will be out tonight.The moon. It's getting dark already, isn't it? I can't believe it. Where did the summer go? It was just spring the other day and now it's October. In a couple of weeks my three wild Indians will put on costumes and extort candy from the neighbors."
    Her face clouded. "It's a family tradition, after all. Extortion."

    "Diana- "

    "And Thanksgiving is just a month away. Doesn't it seem as though we had Thanksgiving three months ago?Or four at the very most?"

    "I know what you mean. The days take as long to pass as ever, but the years fly by."

    She nodded. "I always thought my grandmother was crazy. She would tell me time passed much more quickly when you were older.
    Either she was crazy or she considered me a very gullible child because how could time possibly alter its pace according to one's age? But there is a difference. A year is three percent of my life and ten percent of Sara's, so of course it flies for me and crawls for her. And she's in a hurry for time to rush by, and I wish it would slow itself down a bit. Oh, Matthew, it's not all that much fun getting old."

    "Silly."

    "Me? Why?"

    "Talking about being old when you're just a kid yourself."

    "You can't be a kid anymore when you're somebody's mother."

    "The hell you can't."

    "And I'm getting older, Matthew. Look how much older I am today than yesterday."

    "Older? But younger, too, aren't you?In one way?"

    "Oh, yes," she said. "Yes, you're right. And I hadn't even thought of that."

    When my glass was empty I got to my feet and told her I'd better be going. She said it would be nice if I could stay and I said it was probably a good thing that I couldn't. She thought about that and agreed it was probably true but said it would have been nice all the same.

    "You'll be cold," she said. "It cools