Hide and Seek

The opportunity to ask her about her brother came along two nights

later.

I think I remember everything there is to remember about that night.

The smell of fresh-cut grass on her lawn, the warmth of the air its

exact temperature- the scent of the hair moving toward me and then away

on the flow of breeze through the open windows as we drifted along in

the car, the feel of damp earth under me later and the smell of that

too, the long empty silences, crickets, night birds, her awful shallow

breathing.

I remember every bit of it, because that night put all the rest in

motion. And the next day was Saturday, and the next night was Saturday

night. And I've never looked at Saturdays the same way since. Maybe

you'll find that hard to believe. But you weren't there.

You don't carry it around with you like a sackful of cinders.

Like I say, you weren't there.

I'd taken the day off again and this time the boss wasn't happy with me

at all. I was "ill" again. McGregor wasn't stupid. You only had to

look at Casey once or twice to know what was keeping me away.

I was endangering the job. I didn't care.

We drove to Campobello for the day to see the Roosevelt summer home. We

were the only ones there, so the guide gave us