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Her argument made Billy feel weary He’d heard it so s,” he said “But without art, man is an animal, and a not very attractive ani, selfish, and ard” He indicated the painting “It’s nourishment for the soul”

“How are you, Billy?” Annalisa asked “Really?”

“Just peachy,” Billy replied

“If there’s anything I can do to help yourabout his financial situation But charity got the better of her “If you need e ofbillions”—she smiled as if it were an uncomfortable joke—“and I would never spend tenBut if a person needs help…”

Billy kept his eyes on the Wyeth “You don’t have to worry about , and I reckon I’ll survive a little longer”

When he got back to his apartirl to bring me cod from the supermarket, and it had turned You’d think a person would know if fish were bad or not”

“Oh, Ma,” he said, feeling defeated and frustrated

“What am I supposed to do?” she asked

“Can’t you call Laura?” he said, referring to his sister

“We’re not speaking again We were only speaking because you were here”

“I wish you would sell the house and move to a condo in Palm Beach Your life would be so much easier”

“I can’t afford it, Billy,” she said “And I won’t live with strangers”

“But you’d have your own apartment”

“I can’t live in an aparto crazy”

Billy hung up the phone and sighed His mother had become impossible, as, he supposed, all elderly people hen they refused to accept that their lives had to change He had hired a private nurse to visit his irl ould clean her house and run errands But it was only a teht—she couldn’t afford to sell her house and buy a condo in Florida During his ent who’d infor market had plummeted and his mother’s house orth maybe three hundred thousand dollars If she’d wanted to sell two years ago, it would have been a different story—the house ht have sold for four-fifty