– I know.

– Ill put some money in the mail. And those berries. And a couple pies.

– Great, Mom. Thats great.

– I love you, Web.

– Love you, Mom.

Another long pause.

– Love you, Mom.

And the sound of the phone hanging up.

She never forgets the money. Not sure why that is. Some part of the mothering instinct that wont let her fully relax until the cub is cared for. Or something. I mean, it may be a month before it shows up, and theres no telling what shell send (could be whatever is in her purse when she drives past the post office on a trip into town, or it could be a rubber-banded roll of twenties in a FedEx envelope, no note, just the cash), but shell send it.

But no berries or pie. Which will bum Chev out more than it will me. Thats him missing things he didnt have.

I put the phone back in the cradle. Its a big yellow Bakelite phone with big old push buttons. Id found it in a pile of garbage someone left at the curb when they moved out of the building, and took it inside and tinkered with it till it worked. The timing had been excellent because the night before Chev had come home with a girl hed been seeing and after they screwed he had broken up with her and shed thrown our cordless at him and itd broke. She wasnt so much pissed at being dumped as that hed waited till he got off, but before she did, to do it. Anyway, the way we go through phones, a heavy-duty model is the best bet. As long as it doesnt get thrown at anyone.

I looked in the fridge and the cupboards, but there wasnt really anything to eat. Just half a box of oatmeal, some brown iceberg, a big can of coffee beans, a bunch of takeout condiment packets of catsup and mayo and soy sauce and duck sauce, a frosted bag of Green Giant peas, and some crusty brown rice left over from a Genghis Cohen doggy bag.