«Raising the price of the house, honey.»
Don and Susan exchanged looks.
«Don't think I can't see the two of you exchanging concerned looks.» Before her the mythical young Brian had broken the five-foot mark.
Don reached for his hunting knife, saying, «Gimme that.»
But Marilyn flinched away, then swiveled around like a Shark versus a Jet. «Like
«And where might we be moving?» asked Don.
«Wyoming, you cretin. Cheyenne, Wyoming.»
«Oh, Mom — not
«Yes,
«We're not moving nowhere,» Don said.
«We're not moving
«She's loony today,» Don said to Susan. «Leave her be.»
Susan went back to her tanning, and assumed the mania would pass. Later on, up in her room, she heard the normal clinks and clatters of dinner preparation below. Marilyn called Susan and Don to the table, and the tone of the night seemed altogether normal. Too normal. At that point, their ears roared and the house shook like a car driving over a speed bump. Susan's water glass tipped over and a framed photo fell from a wall. The three stood up — all was silent save for a faint hiss coming from the kitchen.
They walked through the newly scratched door frame to see a manhole-sized gape through the ceiling, and another one directly beneath it in the floor between the stove and the fridge. Don looked down: «Jesus H. Christ — it's a meteorite.»
Susan and Marilyn peered down at the blue-brown boulder that lay on the cracked concrete beside the deep freeze containing Don's venison from the previous fall. Don raced down the stairs, looked at the boulder and then looked up, speechless. The two women ran down to join him.
«It's a miracle,» said Marilyn. «We've been spared. It's a sign from the Lord above that we are on the correct path, an omen to fill us with respect.» She fell to her knees and prayed as she had once before when visiting her kin back in the mountains. Susan looked more closely at the boulder. «Hey — it's
«Holy shit,» said Don, «it's
It was a frozen ball of shit, accidentally discharged from the hull of an Philippine Airlines flight from Chicago to Manila, which paid for the new house in Cheyenne. Don called it «the shitsicle.» The airline settled swiftly and quietly. Within six weeks they were living in Cheyenne.
Chapter Nineteen
The police finished scrutinizing the Susan Colgate shrine in the car's back seat and left the property. John spent the remainder of the day spacing out in front of the shrine and phoning Susan's answering machine, hanging up on the beep each time. He tried sleeping but instead had choppy naps, like pieced-together cutting room floor scraps punctuated with frequent eye openings and anxious pangs. In the late afternoon he gave up, took a shower, drank an algae shake, had a quick chat with Nylla, who was just returning from her exercise class, then drove the car down to West Side Video. Ryan was with a customer.
Do you know the name of the movie, sir?» Ryan was asking the customer.
«Oh, you know —
«Do you know who stars in it?»
«That guy. You know?»
«I'm not sure. Is it a comedy or a drama or — ?»
«It's really good.»
«Okay — any idea who directed it?»
«That famous guy.»
«Right.»
John moved in. «Hey, buddy — go take a pill, and when your brain clicks in, send us a memo.»
The customer was chuffed. «Excuse
John looked the customer in the eye: «You
«Well, um,
«Then why are you asking me? Scram. People who know what they want have to get on with their lives here.»
The customer skulked away, visibly distressed.
«Oh
«The sad residue of too many days lost in meetings with professional time-wasters.»
«If you
John scanned the store, then said, «Ryan — get off work and come on. We've got business to do.»
«Not now — it's the dinnertime rush, I have to phone in the overdues, and tonight is the “Women Who Love Far Too Much” Special.»
«Ivan and I want to buy your script.»
Ten minutes later, in separate cars, they drove to the St. James Club bar. John arrived first, and ordered two scotches. Ryan arrived, breathless. «Before we discuss anything, John, I have to tell you that the police were in this afternoon and they were
«She's gone missing. She didn't show up for some Showtime Channel movie she was doing. The cops harassed me, too. But
«Oh God — you're a freak!» Ryan laughed.
John didn't laugh.
«Aren't people supposed to be gone for at least forty-eight hours before they become a missing person?»
«I don't know.» John put his head in his hands. «Drink.»
Ryan drank.
«Nylla — that's Ivan's wife — before I came down here tonight, we were chatting about this and that, and she told me that after the crash Susan was gone for a whole year before she came back. I didn't know it was for that long! I didn't. And it turns out
«But you
«I was in and out of Betty Ford so much in '96 I don't even know who was
