12/03/2026 12:30

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There was a loud wooden crunch, like a door being slammedhard enough to splinter, and Jo wailed. Theoverall feeling is not neglect, exactly, butjrgottenness. Ipaused long enough to hear the weather forecast on theradio---contin-ued hot and humid for another forty-eight hours atleast--and then got out. Here or there, at this hour Ki would still be up.

Then, suddenly angry with myself, Ireached out and spread them again, doing it with enough force to knock acouple to the floor. She laughedagain--that harsh laughter that was almost like a cough--and squeezed mewhere the squeezing was best. She and Kenny and the kids wentdown Taxachusetts. With theworst of the noise gone I could hear the TV cackling away in thekitchen.