Activity

Phoebe changed into her sleeping shirt, turned off the light and lay on the bed, arms folded. The ceiling was made of white squares that sparkled faintly. Her heart pounded in her ears. Something was wrong. She’d failed, Phoebe thought, but at what? Imagining herself in Europe, she’d always picture…

“Do you ever miss those times?” Phoebe asked.

“What times?”

“You know. The sixties.” The term sounded foolish.

Karl sucked at the pipe, eyes narrowed. “It was good,” he said, breathing smoke. “Like falling in love. Sure, you want the beginning. But you know already the end.”

Phoebe took…

“Because IBM made him sick,” Phoebe said, angry at the quaver in her voice.

Her mother snorted, turning on her heel. “That’s ludicrous,” she said, heading for her bedroom.

Phoebe charged after her. She felt crazed. How could it be ludicrous? That was the story of her father. With every move, …

She was not a presence at high school. If someone thought to include her, Phoebe was included, but if she stood up and left mid-party, as often she had, phoning a taxi home among the bright potholders and fruit-shaped magnets of someone’s kitchen, few people noticed. Handed a hit of acid once, she’…

“It was hard,” Barry told her with relish. “I had to order the parts from this store in New Jersey, Edmund Scientific. Then I just figured it out, you know? Studied Dad’s sketches.”

He was flushed, dark eyes fastened to the small machine. He turned a knob and the buzzing sound became a loud ring…