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He glances down at the IV line Caesar and I have placed "I don't need that"

"Like hell you don't," I say "If you don't take antiseizure meds, you'll be back on that floor in no time"

Relenting, he leans back against the couch and stares at the ceiling "How bad was it?"

"Pretty bad," I admit

He pats Judge on the head--the dog's been inseparable "Good boy Sorry I didn't listen" Then he looks down at his pants--wet and reeking, another corand mal "Shit"

"Close enough" I hand hi I had the depart "You need help?"

He shakes me off and tries, one-handedly, to take off his trousers Without a word I reach over and undo the fly, help hi, the way I'd lift up the shirt of a wo him

"Thanks," he says, taking great care to zip his own fly We sit for a second "Does the judge know?" When I don't answer, Caht in front of everyone?"

"How long have you hidden it?"

"Since it started I was eighteen I got into a car crash, and they started up after that"

"Head trauma?"

He nods "That's what they said"

I clasp ether between my knees "Anna was pretty freaked out"

Ca"

"Yeah," I say "Yeah"

He looks up at et back in there"

"Not yet" At the sound of Julia's voice, we both turn She stands in the doorway, staring at Campbell as if she has never seen him before, and I suppose in all fairness she hasn't, not like this

"I'll, uh, go see if the boys have filed their report yet," I murmur, and I leave them

Things don't always look as they seeht pinholes, but when you get thelobular cluster--a le entity On a less dramatic note there are triples, like Alpha Centauri, which up close turns out to be a double star and a red dwarf in close proximity

There's an indigenous tribe in Africa that tells of life co from the second star in Alpha Centauri, the one no one can see without a high-powered observatory telescope Coinals, and the Plains Indians all lived continents apart and all, independently, looked at the same septuplet knot of the Pleiades and believed the that threatened to hurt them

Make of it what you will

CAMPBELL

THE ONLY THING COMPARABLE to the after up on the paveover fro run over by a truck On second thought, rand mal is worse I a apart at the sea," I say

"No kidding" Julia holds out her hand for Judge to sniff She points to the couch beside me "Can I sit down?"

"It's not catching, if that's what you mean"

"It wasn't" Julia coh that I can feel the heat from her shoulder, inches away from mine "Why didn't you tell me, Campbell?"

"Christ, Julia, I didn't even tell my parents" I try to look over her shoulder into the hallway "Where's Anna?"

"How long has this been going on?"

I try to get up, and ives out "I have to get back in there"

"Campbell"

I sigh "A while"

"A while, as in a week?"

Shaking raduated from Wheeler" I look up at her "The day I took you home, all I wanted was to be with you When o to that stupid dinner at the country club, I followed them inon driving back to your house, that night But on the way to dinner, I got into a car accident I caht, I had the first seizure Thirty CT scans later, the doctors still couldn't really tell me why, but they made it pretty clear I'd have to live with it forever" I take a deep breath "Which is what made me realize that no one else should have to"

"What?"

"What do you want h for you You deserved better than so at the mouth any old minute"

Julia goes perfectly still "You ht have let me make up my own mind"

"What difference would it have uardingat the end of my life" I shake my head "You were so incredibly independent A free spirit I didn't want to be the one who took that away from you"

"Well, if I'd had the choice,there was so the matter with me"

"You?" I start to laugh "Look at you You're a knockout You're smarter than I am You're on a career track and you're family-centered and you probably even can balance your checkbook"

"And I'm lonely, Campbell," Julia adds "Why do you think I had to learn to act so independent? I also getthe covers, andone My hair has its own zip code Plus, I get certifiably crazy when I've got PMS You don't love someone because they're perfect," she says "You love them in spite of the fact that they're not"

I don't kno to respond to that; it's like being told after thirty-five years that the sky, which I've seen as a brilliant blue, is in fact rather green

"And another thing--this ti to leave you"

If possible, that only makes me feel worse I try to pretend it doesn't hurt, but I don't have the energy "So go"

Julia settles next to me "I will," she says "In another fifty or sixty years"

ANNA

I KNOCK ON THE DOOR of the , gross urinal On the other, washing his hands in a sink, is Ca a pair of my dad's uniforht lines that had been used to draw his face have been sed "Julia said you wanted me to come in here," I say

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you alone, and all the conference rooht to tackle that just yet" He wipes his hands on a towel "I'm sorry about what happened"

Well, I don't even know if there's a decent answer to that I chew on ?"

"Yeah"

"How does Judge knohat to do?"

Ca to do with scent or electrical impulses that an animal can sense before a human can But I think it's because we know each other so well" He pats Judge on the neck "He gets me somewhere safe before it happens I usually have about twenty minutes' lead time"

"Huh" I am suddenly shy I've been with Kate when she's really, really sick, but this is different I hadn't been expecting this from Campbell "Is this why you took my case?"

"So that I could have a seizure in public? Believe me, no"

"Not that" I look away from him "Because you knohat it's like to not have any control over your body"

"Maybe," Cahtfully "But "

If he's trying toreatest idea"

He puts his hands on o back in there after that performance, you sure as hell can climb into the hot seat for a few more questions"

How aic? So I follow Ca is th