bulvon, with teeth like dinosaurs’—I’ll pull out yours too, Mr. Carey, if you want me to — no charge.” “Thanks but no. Ones I don’t need I let fall out.” “Smart guy. And I know you’re Carey because you got it stitched on your jacket. Don’t let me fool you.” “You didn’t.” “But no plates here,” he says to her. “They won’t shoot for it for the prisoners. But I already said that. I’m repeating myself when I’ve only got seconds left. I’d like to be making them. Keep my hands in so I don’t get rusty. Does he pay the rent on time?” “First of the month. And for the summer, when he was going to a dental convention in Chicago and then on to a vacation somewhere — Denver, he said; the Grand Canyon to hike and ride horses—” “Lucky guy. Not the hiking, but I used to ride horses. Once in army training, then in Prospect Park a couple of times. I’ve pictures. You’ve seem them.” “—he gave me two months in advance. I think he’ll be there for as long as we like.” “Tell him not to get too tied to the place. Or why not? I’ll open an office someplace else. It doesn’t always have to be in my own home.” “Time’s really up,” Carey says. “Now we’re all breaking rules and can be penalized. Your wife, with shortening her visits. You, because of that. Me, in that they don’t like me being this lenient at the end of a visit and I get a talking-to—” “Can I kiss her hand through the bottom hole here?” “Afraid not.” “Right now she wouldn’t go for it anyway.” He stands. “Goodbye, dear,” she says. “I mean it: please call and write as often as you can. And try to forget most of what we went over today — what might disturb you.” “The kids. Give them each a big kiss on the head from me.” Carey signals a guard behind the glass, who goes over to her husband. “Tell them I love them like nobody does but don’t tell them where I am.” Carey shuts the speaking hole. “Gerald knows.” Her husband cups his hand to his ear and his expression says “What?” “I don’t want to get you in trouble here,” she says louder, “but Gerald knows.” “Yeah, I know, I know,” he shouts, “but not the others and tell Gerald not to tell.” Carey opens the hole and says “Everything all right, Yitzik?” Yitzik waves that everything’s fine, puts his hand on her husband’s shoulder and says “Please don’t make a fuss.” “Me? A fuss? You hear that, Pauline? This nice guard here thinks I’m going to make a fuss. — Not good-time Simon, sir. Not a chance,” and without looking at her or back at her he goes with the guard through a door. She puts the paper back into a manila envelope, winds the string around the tab in back to close it, goes through her door, is asked if anything was slipped to her by the prisoner and is given her pocketbook back, calls for a cab, leaves the prison, takes the cab to town, goes to a bar near the train station and has two strong drinks, something she only started doing every day once he went to prison and which she has one or two more of and never has supper or lunch the day she visits him.