“No, I have not been drinking. I went to a meeting and then I went to talk the doctor into giving me some Antabuse. I told you I was going to quit drinking and I’m going to. I had to have some more tests made. They have to be sure I can take it before they give it to me.” I didn’t look at him. I just got out of the car still talking and I kept on talking. “Thanks for staying so late, Klane. What an afternoon. Did you get anything out for dinner?”

“I made you some fried chicken and a pan of biscuits. Well, I’m going on if you’re here.” She looked at me from under her eyebrows.

“Go on then. I’m sorry it took so long. I’m sorry I didn’t call you, Malcolm. Everything took longer than I thought it would. Besides, it’s still light. I lose track of time this time of year. Come on in. If you’ll watch them another minute while I change clothes, I’ll get dinner ready.” I swept by him into the house and went into the bathroom and pulled off all my clothes and grabbed a washcloth and washed off my body and stuck a tube of spermicide up my vagina and then put on some cutoffs and a loose shirt. I swept back into the kitchen and started setting the table and heating vegetables and getting out bread. I was pretending I was Derry Waters. I could do it all and do it all at once. I could cook and set the table and take care of babies and plan getting an abortion. I was Aphrodite and Athena and Diana. I was unstoppable and amazing and divine and I sure as hell wasn’t going to have any more babies no matter who they belonged to or what I had to do.

“Come on in and put them in their high chairs,” I called out to Malcolm. “I’m sorry you’re having to take care of them but come on in here and talk to me. Tell me what you did today. Tell me what’s going on at the plant.” He came into the kitchen with the boys. He was still suspicious but he didn’t know exactly what to be suspicious of. He knew I was up to something, but I was moving so fast it was throwing him off.

“Tell me about these tests you had done,” he began. “I thought they’d already done them.”