“The phones might be out of order in some parts of
town,” Judith said, trying to soothe Renie. “If there’s
ice, the lines could be down. In fact, if Blanche Van
Boeck wants to do something helpful for the city, she
should advocate better weather preparedness. Do you
really think she’s going to run for mayor?”
Renie had turned listless. “Who knows? Who cares?
Where’s dinner? What
getting low.”
“Want to watch the news?” Judith asked in her most
cheerful voice.
“No. I hate television news. Why can’t we get an
evening paper?”
“They may not be able to deliver it,” Judith said,
clicking on the TV. “Look, there’s Mavis Lean-Brodie
again.”
“Why do we get only four channels on this stupid
set? Why can’t we get ESPN or Fox Sports so we
could watch basketball?”
“Mavis looks like she’s changed her hair color. It’s
much lighter. I like it.”
“How can I find out who’s heading for the NCAA
tournament? What about our own drippy pro basketball team? Why don’t I like hockey?”
“What’s the other anchor’s name? Tim Somethingor-Other?”
“I like the violence in hockey. I just don’t understand the game. And I never learned to ice-skate. I have
weak ankles.”
SUTURE SELF
219
“They don’t seem to be showing anything but the
weather. Goodness, the city really is paralyzed.”
“Without ESPN and Fox Sports, I can’t even keep
up with the Hot Stove League. How do I know which
baseball players have been traded in the off-season? I
might as well be in never-never land.”
“Look at all the event cancellations. Oh, here come
the school closures. Goodness, the entire public school
district and the private schools are shut down for the
duration.”
Dinner arrived, courtesy of the silent orderly. Judith
optimistically uncovered her entree. It looked like
some kind of cutlet.
Renie turned her back on the orderly and buried her
head in the pillow. “Take it away. I can’t eat things that
look like high school science experiments.”
The orderly set the tray on the nightstand and wordlessly walked out.
“This isn’t bad,” Judith said, tasting her entree. “It’s
pork.”
Renie didn’t look up until her phone rang. “Now
what?” she grumbled, yanking the receiver off the
