Breathing Lessons (1989 Pulitzer Prize) - Anne Tyler [134]
"I was a coward," Maggie said suddenly, setting down her bowl. "I should have stayed and helped Serena get her changed. But I felt so foolish; I felt I'd made such a mess of things. I just said, 'Bye now!' and walked out, and the last I saw of her she was sitting there in a fright wig like somebody . . . inappropriate and senile and pathetic, with everyone around her dressed in normal cloth-ing." "Oh, honey, she adjusted to the place just fine, in the end," Ira said. "Why make such a big deal of it?" "Because you didn't see how she looked, Ira. And also she was wearing one of those Poseys, you know? One of those Posey restraining devices because she couldn't sit upright on her own anymore. A clown suit and a Posey! I was dumb, \ tell you." She was hoping Ira would continue contradicting her, but all he did was lay a jack of clubs on a queen.
"I don't know why I kid myself that I'm going to heaven," Maggie told him.
Silence.
"So shall I call her, or not?" "Call who?" "Serena, Ira. Who have we been talking about here?" "Sure, if you like," he said.
"But suppose she hangs up on me?" "Then think of all you'll save on the phone bill." She made a face at him.
She took the telephone from the nightstand and set it in her lap. Pondered it for a moment. Lifted the receiver. Tactfully, Ira bent lower over his cards and started whistling. (He was so polite about privacy, although as Maggie knew from experience you could overhear quite a lot while pretending to be absorbed in your song.) She punched in Serena's number very slowly and deliberately, as if that would help their conversation'.
Serena's telephone gave two short rings instead of one long. Maggie thought of that as rural and slightly backward. Breep-breep, it said. Breep-breep.
Serena said, "Hello?" "Serena?" "Yes?" "It's me." "Oh, hi." Maybe she hadn't realized yet who "me" was. Maggie cleared her throat. She said, "It's Maggie." "Hi, Maggie." Maggie relaxed against her pillow and stretched her legs out. She said, "I called to see how you were doing." "Just fine!" Serena said. "Or, well, I don't know. Not so hot, to tell the troth. I keep walking up and down, walking from one room to another. Can't seem to stay in one place." "Isn't Linda there?" "I sent her away." "What for?" "She got on my nerves." "On your nerves! How?" "Oh, this way and that, I forget. They took me out to dinner and ... I admit it was partly my fault. I was acting sort of contrary. I didn't like the restaurant and I couldn't stand the people who were eating there. I kept thinking how good it would feel to be alone, to have the house to myself. But now here I am and it's so quiet. It's like Fm wrapped in cotton or something. I was thrilled to hear the phone ring." "I wish you lived closer," Maggie said.
Serena said, "I don't have anyone to tell about the trivia, what the plumbing's up to and how the red ants have come back in the kitchen." "You can tell me," Maggie said.
"Well, but they're not your red ants too, don't you see? I mean you and I are not in this together." "Oh," Maggie said.
There was a pause.
What was it Ira was whistling? Something from that record Leroy had played this evening; the lyrics were on the tip of Maggie's tongue. He scooped up a run of diamonds and shifted them to a king.
"Yotr know," Serena said, "whenever Max went on " business trip we'd have so much to tell each other when he came home. He would talk and talk, and / would talk and talk, and then, you know what we'd do?" "What?" "We'd have a great big horrible fight." Maggie laughed.
"And then we'd patch it up, and then we'd go to bed together," Serena said.