“Laurie, come on out here and say hello to John Becker. “Good thing God isn’t listening to you anymore. I didn’t think you’d be here after that spill.”
#Prayers for widows and orphans free#
I saw your friend hanging up there like a chandelier it’s free entertainment, and I don’t know how it’s going to come out. “I didn’t know you’d be here, did I? We were just passing by. “Mick Seeger’s wife,” Tee said with a great show of innocence. His bones ached just thinking about it.Īs he approached Tee, Becker realized there was someone else in the car. Becker was relieved to see Tee’s cop car parked alongside the highway if he talked to Tee long enough maybe Cindi and Alan would get to the top and Becker could tackle the more conventional route up. Cindi was halfway up the rockface, spread-eagled against the stone as if she’d been staked out for torture, but calmly watching Alan perform. Becker was not even sure that a fly could handle an outcropping like the one Alan was negotiating as Becker arrived. Going straight up at ninety degrees was bad enough, but one hundred twenty seemed to be pushing beyond stupidity into lunacy. Another thing that annoyed Becker.Īlan had found a new route that obliged him to hang upside down for a distance of five feet before restoring himself to the merely vertical. “We will.” She hung up without saying good-bye. We’re starting around two so the sun won’t be in our eyes. “Alan was just upset because during your three minutes of crisis he wasn’t the center of attention. “I got the impression last time that Alan was a little annoyed that I spoiled the party.” I just thought I’d let you know if you wanted to join us.” “Does it have to do with the way you relate to other people and your feelings of guilt and aggression and codependency and your inability to form a truly lasting bond with another human being?” “Just the usual way, I suppose, but I’m kind of proud of it.” “It means I’m screwed up in a special way. On the other hand, she had taken the trouble to find out how he was feeling. Maybe that brought out the best in people. “Does that mean you’re a special guy, or that you’re especially screwed up?” She had seemed so sympathetic when he was dangling upside down on a rope. She paused, waiting for him to explain, which also annoyed Becker. “I’ve been trying to reach you for the past day and a half I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” And how had she known he would? Or did she usually start like this, as if she were always in mid-conversation? There was no particular reason for him to recognize her voice-but he did. It was one of Becker’s pet peeves and he played with the notion of asking who the hell she was. She just started talking on the telephone, assuming she would be recognized.