Удушье (Choke)

I can see her from here.

'Your mom, I mean,' he says.

She doesn't know me anymore. She won't miss me.

'Not for her,' Denny says. 'You need to go complete this for you.'

Denny, his arms flicker with shadows where his muscles flex. Denny, now his arms stretch the sleeves of his sour T-shirt. His skinny arms look big around. His pinched shoulders spread wide. With every row, he's having to lift the stones a little higher. With every row, he's having to be stronger. Denny says, 'You want to stay for Chinese food?' He says, 'You look a little wasted.'

I ask, is he living with this Beth girl now?

I ask if he's got her pregnant or anything.

And Denny lugging a big gray rock with both hands at his waist, he shrugs. A month ago, this was a rock the two of us could hardly lift together.

If he needs it, I tell him I got my mom's old car running.

'Go see how your mom is,' Denny says. 'Then come and help.'

Everybody at Colonial Dunsboro says to say hello, I tell him.

And Denny says, 'Don't lie to me, dude. I'm not the one who needs cheering up.'

Chapter 35

Fast-forwarding through the messages

on my mom's answering ma­chine, there's the same soft voice, hushed and understanding, saying, 'Condition is deteriorating . . .' Saying, 'Critical. . .' Saying, 'Mother ...' Saying, 'Intervene ...'

I just keep hitting the fast-forward button.

Still on the shelf for tonight, there's Colleen Moore, whoever she was. There's Constance Lloyd, whoever that is. There's Judy Garland. There's Eva Braun. What's left is definitely the second string.

The voice on the message machine stops and starts.

'... been calling some of the fertility clinics listed in his mother's diary ...' it says.

It's Paige Marshall.

I rewind.

'Hello, this is Dr. Marshall,' she says. 'I need to talk to Vic­tor Mancini. Please tell Mr. Mancini that I've been calling some of the fertility clinics listed in his mother's diary, and they all seem to be legitimate. Even the doctors are real.' She says, 'The oddest part is that they get very upset when I ask them about Ida Mancini.'

She says, 'This is looking like something more than just Mrs. Mancini's fantasy.'

A voice in the background says, 'Paige?'

A man's voice.

'Listen,' she says. 'My husband's here, so would Victor Mancini please visit me at St. Anthony's Care Center as soon as possible.'

The man's voice says, 'Paige? What are you up to? Why are you whispering—'

And the line goes dead.