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I left thee, I packed s--three years later, there still wasn’t much--and telephoned the biochera the farthest away, in a city I knew nothing about It was a Saturday, so I had to leave a ht about abandoning et some use out of it But this seemed peevish and overly sy outside, double-parked, was a rental car As I closed nored it I carried s downstairs, dropped off my key at the Winthrop House office, and drove away

I arrived in Mercy in the one for a century I slept inon theMy father

"What are you doing here?"

He earing a bathrobe; he had coet the Sunday paper and noticed the car He had aged a great deal, in the er cared much about his appearance He had not shaved; his breath was bad I followed hih it was very dusty and sry?" he asked s"

"That’s all right," I said "I wasn’t really planning on staying I just wanted to say hello"

"Letroom I had expected to be nervous, but I wasn’t I wasn’t really feelingMy father returned fros and sat across from me

"You look taller," he said

"I’"

We drank our coffee

"So, hoas college? I know you just graduated They sent ot to say about it?" The question wasn’t peevish; he ed "I fell in love It didn’t really work out, though"

He thought for a moment "I suppose you’ll want to visit your rocery store so I could pick up some flowers They didn’t have much, just daisies and carnations, but I did not think irl behind the counter to wrap thereens to make them nice We drove out of town The interior offrom McDonald’s A few dried-out fries rattled inside it

"You shouldn’t eat this stuff," I said

We arrived at the cemetery, parked, and walked the rest of the way It was a pleasant raves My mother’s headstone was located in the area for creether Hers had just her na, and the dates She had been fifty-seven

I put the flowers down and stepped back I thought about certain days, things we’d done together, about being her son