@@@@@Maybe it was crazy, but I thought drawing 19
@@@@@Maybe it was
crazy, but I thought drawing had played a partIn
fact, it was something I sort of knew
We talked for awhile, and little by little I could
hear that concern going out of her voiceWhat
replaced it was unhappinessShe was understanding,
I suppose, that this thing was really happening,
that her mother and father weren't just going to
wake up one morning and take it backBut she
promised to call Pam and e-mail Melinda, let them
know I was still in the land of the living
"Don't you have e-mail there, Dad?"
"I do, but tonight you're my e-mail, Cookie
91
She laughed, sniffed, laughed againI thought to
ask if she was crying, then thought againBetter
not to, maybe
"Ilse? I better let you go now, honeyI want to
shower off the dayThen she burst out: "I
hate to think of you all the way down there in
Florida by yourself! Maybe falling on your ass in
the shower! It's not right!"
"Cookie, I'm fineThe kid - his
name's Hurricanes, I thought
"His name's Jim Cantori But that was a case of
right church, wrong pew
"That's not the same, and you know itDo you want
me to come?"
"Not unless you want your mother to scalp us both
bald," I said"What I want is for you to stay
right where you are and TCB, darlinBut take care of yourself
"Huh?"
"Never mind
"I still want to hear you promise, Dad
92
For one terrible and surpassingly eerie moment I
saw Ilse at eleven, Ilse dressed in a Girl Scout's
uniform and looking at me with Monica Goldstein's
shocked eyesBefore I could stop the words, I
heard myself saying, "Promi
