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"Soht you look twelve"

Somewhat insulted, I stood up and went to theBennett and Dashay were in each other’s arracefully that I shivered I wondered if I’d ever be able to dance like that

Why is it that the obvious answer to a problem often is the last one we consider?

Within one’s field of consciousness, certain elements are the focus of attention, and certain others lie at the periphery My attention tends to focus on what strikes ht now, I’ little attention to the cat sitting at my feet, or the scent of the huht say I’s But they’re part of my peripheral consciousness; the proof is, I can shift s lie within my consciousness, even if I don’t choose to pay attention to them

Why didn’t I notice the copies of The Poe Journal on ht My father had kept a si roo up, whether the average American fauessed that they preferred Poe

Having been out in the world, I no better

I dialed the number on The Poe Journal’s masthead

"My father is ill," I told the ed to ahis copy of the journal," I said "I told him I’d call you"

"Let enuine

I gave his

In a few moments he came back on the line "Ms Montero?" he said

"Ariella Montero," I said

"Yes," he said "Well, it appears that your father’s subscription has been transferred This is most aard Someone called back in February and asked for the subscription to be transferred"

"Oh," I said, thinking fast "To my uncle?"

"That would be Mr Pym?"

"What was the address?"

"6705 Midnight Pass Road," he said "Is that correct?"

"Of course," I said "He e So sorry to trouble you"

"I do hope that your father’s health improves," the ain, please let us know"

I thanked hioodbye I never did find out the naave ood manners weren’t entirely obsolete I’m sorry that I had to lie to him

Chapter Sixteen

One of the small ironies of my education took place the daycarew from experience and events Only years later did I see that all of ned to be orderly, predictable, dull Since I’d left Saratoga Springs,had certainly been more active

It took Mãe’s coht Pass in Siesta Key, part of Sarasota, Florida, and another minute for the online directory to infor on that street for any Pyht, or listed in someone else’s name

Sarasota! My father was a creature of habit indeed -- if Py to ure out noas the best way to travel, and whether or not to tell Mãe I was going

I’d come to appreciate the use of maps Sarasota wasn’t far, only about a hundred miles south of Homosassa I couldon the living roo peanuts withoutside felt like wading through a bowl of soup The air smelled of overripe fruit ready to rot It was too hot for any action, I told myself

But I knew the true reason for my hesitation: the question my mother had asked What if you do find hi he’d said, only

That night, as Mãe and I ashing dishes, I said, "I think I knohere my father is"

Mãe let a plate slip froain, and began to wash it

"I think he’s in Sarasota" I rinsed the last glass and set it in the drying rack