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He was silent for a minute Then he said quietly, "And what if you found out she was a cheap whore working the Boston streets?"

Natalie felt as if he had slapped her "You're rotten," she said

"No, I'm not I care about you, Nat Listen, what a person is has nothing to do here they come from, not hat body they cohed "Natalie, do you reirl who dropped out of school in tenth grade?"

Natalie looked at hi But she had that nice smile I remember her smile, always kind of dumb and puzzled and scared Lonely Why?"

"Well, Brenda works down at the fish factory now She still has that same smile--lonely, duoes to bed with anyone who smiles back and buys her two beers"

"So?"

"So Suppose I went down to the waterfront after I leave here tonight, bought Brenda a couple of beers, and screwed her"

"Paul"

"I'uys in the senior class have Now, suppose I did, and suppose Brenda becanant, with my child She wouldn't even knoas ave birth to that child, out of her skinny, scared, borderline-retarded body Do you think that baby would have anything to do with ht have your eyes Your intelligence It would be very much a part of you"

"Well, that's bullshit, Nat," Paul said angrily "I don't believe that It would be a baby, that's all Probably sickly Born by mistake, because someone was horny and had a couple of bucks to spend on beer 'Heritage' is a , Paul Do you think that I could have been born to a prostitute--or, as you put it, a cheap whore working the Boston streets? Or to some vacant-brained person like Brenda?"

He looked away, out of the car , across the lawn, and didn't answer

"Do you?" she asked again

"No," he said, finally

"Well, I don't either, damn it I think that somewhere there is a dark-haired woirl whom she couldn't keep And that she still thinks about it, and wonders where that baby is Where I aht to"

She kissed hiine, and called to her "Nat?"

"What?" She went to theon his side

"Don't hurt your parents"

She stood there silently, hugging her arht breeze "I already have," she said "I wish that weren't part of it" Then she turned and ran across the lawn to the porch, as he backed his car from the driveway and headed hootten about it Your mother and I have talked and talked"

"Why haven't you talked to "

"It isn't for ive us soht My father Why isn't that enough?

5

NANCY CAME into her room and closed the door

"Nat," she asked, "what's with you and the rents?"

Natalie groaned "Nancy, why do you have to talk in that ridiculous super-teen-ager-abbreviated way? The word is 'Parents'"

Nancy grinned "Okay What's with you and the parents?

Natalie was brushing her hair "What do you mean?" she asked

"Hey, letto wear it at graduation?" Nancy took the brush, collected her sister's heavy dark hair in her hands, and non on the top of Natalie's head "Hey, not bad Not bad"

Natalie looked in the mirror as Nancy held the mound of hair carefully in place "Yeah, I kind of like that, Nance But it wouldn't work I have to wear one of those stupid flat hats at graduation Move it down a little"

Nancy rearranged the bundle of hair lower, at Natalie's neck It made her look older, es in the ht, curly, and short: the kind of hair that always looked the same, no matter how she tried to re-do it She pouted at herself, led Then she released Natalie's hair so that it fell thick and straight again "You're so lucky," she said to her sister

I wish people would stop telling ht Natalie Or else that I would feel lucky, or that I believed being lucky is a good thing

"I drank two beers at Karen's party Saturday night," confided Nancy "Then I threw up"

"Taught you a lesson," said Natalie