"I'll come with you," Mary said.

Jack watched them walk to the kitchen. He settled back against the cushion and watched them walk.

Then he leaned forward very slowly. He squinted. He saw Carl reach up to a shelf in the cupboard. He saw Mary move against Carl from behind and put her arms around his waist.

"Are you guys serious?" Helen said.

"Very serious," Jack said.

"About Alaska," Helen said.

He stared at her.

"I thought you said something," Helen said.

Carl and Mary came back. Carl carried a large bag of M&M's and a bottle of cream soda, Mary sucked on an orange Popsicle.

"Anybody want a sandwich?" Helen said. "We have sandwich stuff."

"Isn't it funny," Mary said. "You start with the desserts first and then you move on to the main course."

"It's funny," Jack said.

"Are you being sarcastic, honey?" Mary said.

"Who wants cream soda?" Carl said. "A round of cream soda coming up."

Jack held his gla.s.s out and Carl poured it full. Jack set the gla.s.s on the coffee table, but in reaching for it he knocked over the gla.s.s and the soda poured onto his shoe.

"G.o.dd.a.m.n it," Jack said. "How do you like that? I spilled it on my shoe."

"Helen, do we have a towel? Get Jack a towel," Carl said.

"Those were new shoes," Mary said. "He just got them."

"They look comfortable," Helen said a long time later and handed Jack a towel.

"That's what I told him," Mary said.

Jack took the shoe off and rubbed the leather with the towel.

"It's done for," he said. "That cream soda will never come out."

Mary and Carl and Helen laughed.

"That reminds me, I read something in the paper," Helen said. She pushed on the tip of her nose with a finger and narrowed her eyes. "I can't remember what it was now," she said.

Jack worked the shoe back on. He put both feet under the lamp and looked at the shoes together.

What did you read?" Carl said.

"What?" Helen said.

"You said you read something in the paper," Carl said.

Helen laughed. "I was just thinking about Alaska, and I remembered them finding a prehistoric man in a block of ice. Something reminded me."

"That wasn't in Alaska," Carl said.

"Maybe it wasn't, but it reminded me of it," Helen said.

"What about Alaska, you guys?" Carl said.

"There's nothing in Alaska," Jack said.

"He's on a b.u.mmer," Mary said.

"What'll you guys do in Alaska?" Carl said.

"There's nothing to do in Alaska," Jack said. He put his feet under the coffee table. Then he moved them out under the light once more. "Who wants a new pair of shoes?" Jack said.

"What's that noise?" Helen said, They listened. Something scratched at the door.

"It sounds like Cindy," Carl said. "I'd better let her in."

"While you're up, get me a Popsicle," Helen said. She put her head back and laughed.

"I'll have another one too, honey," Mary said. "What did I say? I mean Carl," Mary said. "Excuse me. I thought I was talking to Jack."

"Popsicles all around," Carl said. "You want a Popsicle, Jack?"

"What?"

"You want an orange Popsicle?"

"An orange one," Jack said.

"Four Popsicles coming up," Carl said.

In a while he came back with the Popsicles and handed them around. He sat down and they heard the scratching again.

"I knew I was forgetting something," Carl said. He got up and opened the front door.

"Good Christ," he said, "if this isn't something. I guess Cindy went out for dinner tonight. Hey, you guys, look at this."

The cat carried a mouse into the living room, stopped to look at them, then carried the mouse down the hall.

"Did you see what I just saw?" Mary said. "Talk about a b.u.mmer."

Carl turned the hall light on. The cat carried the mouse out of the hall and into the bathroom.

"She's eating this mouse," Carl said.

"I don't think I want her eating a mouse in my bathroom," Helen said. "Make her get out of there. Some of the children's things are in there."

"She's not going to get out of here," Carl said.

"What about the mouse?" Mary said.

"What the h.e.l.l," Carl said. "Cindy's got to learn to hunt if we're going to Alaska."

"Alaska?" Helen said. "What's all this about Alaska?"

"Don't ask me," Carl said. He stood near the bathroom door and watched the cat. "Mary and Jack said they're going to Alaska. Cindy's got to learn to hunt."

Mary put her chin in her hands and stared into the hall.

"She's eating the mouse," Carl said.

Helen finished the last of the corn chips. "I told him I didn't want Cindy eating a mouse in the bathroom.

Carl?" Helen said.

"What?"

"Make her get out of the bathroom, I said," Helen said.

"For Christ's sake," Carl said.

"Look," Mary said. "Ugh. The G.o.dd.a.m.n cat is coming in here," Mary said.

"What's she doing?" Jack said.

The cat dragged the mouse under the coffee table. She lay down under the table and licked the mouse.

She held the mouse in her paws and licked slowly, from head to tail.

"The cat's high," Carl said.

"It gives you the shivers," Mary said.

"It's just nature," Carl said.

"Look at her eyes." Mary said. "Look at the way she looks at us. She's high, all right."

Carl came over to the sofa and sat beside Mary. Mary inched toward Jack to give Carl room. She rested her hand on Jack's knee. They watched the cat eat the mouse.

"Don't you ever feed that cat?" Mary said to Helen. Helen laughed.

"You guys ready for another smoke?" Carl said.

"We have to go," Jack said.

"What's your hurry?" Carl said.

"Stay a little longer," Helen said. "You don't have to go yet."

Jack stared at Mary, who was staring at Carl. Carl stared at something on the rug near his feet.

Helen picked through the M&M's in her hand.

"I like the green ones best," Helen said.

"I have to work in the morning," Jack said.

"What a b.u.mmer he's on," Mary said. "You want to hear a b.u.mmer, folks? There's a b.u.mmer."

"Are you coming?" Jack said.

"Anybody want a gla.s.s of milk?" Carl said. "We've got some milk out there."

"I'm too full of cream soda," Mary said.

"There's no more cream soda," Carl said.

Helen laughed. She closed her eyes and then opened them and then laughed again.

"We have to go home," Jack said. In a while he stood up and said, "Did we have coats? I don't think we had coats."

"What? I don't think we had coats," Mary said. She stayed seated.

"We'd better go," Jack said.

"They have to go," Helen said.

Jack put his hands under Mary's shoulders and pulled her up.

"Good-bye, you guys," Mary said. She embraced Jack. "I'm so full I can hardly move," Mary said.

Helen laughed.

"Helen's always finding something to laugh at," Carl said, and Carl grinned. "What are you laughing at, Helen?"

"I don't know. Something Mary said," Helen said.

"What did I say?" Mary said.

"I can't remember," Helen said.