Chapter 17: Day Fifty-Six

On day fifty-six I told Lacey about the voice, with the kitchen door shut and a bag of frozen peas on my forehead.

I told her everything.

I got as far as the first shock before my voice went, and she waited until it came back.

I told her about Mariel and Dot, and the thing Thatcher had said about his heart.

Lacey listened with her glasses pushed up in her hair and a piece of toast in her hand.

When I finished, she ate the toast.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay?"

"I've known since the cereal."

"What cereal?"

"You ate a bowl of cereal in March and said 'Probability of success ninety-seven percent, relax.' You said it to the milk."

"I did not."

"You did, June. Twice. I assumed you were sleep talking about a real estate deal."

I laughed, and then I put the peas down on the table and it came out more like a hiccup.

Lacey slid her chair across the linoleum and put her arm around me.

"Hey. Hey. I'm here. I'm so mad at you. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you'd put me in a facility upstate."

"I would have put you in a facility," she agreed. "A nice one. With a pool."

She got up and put the kettle on.

"Okay. Walk me through the System. Who runs it?"

"I don't know."

"Does it have a phone number?"

"It lives in my head."

"What does it say when you ask for the manager?"

"It shocked me."

"Good," said Lacey. "That means there's one."

She turned around and pointed the spoon at me.

"I did two summers in cancellations at the cable company. You know how long it takes to quit cable?"

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