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A Novel
by Ann Cummins
He doesnt have to tell me anything, Ryland says.
The woman blinks again. She smiles.
The lawyer gets up and walks over to the pictures on the wall. Is this your
family, Mr. Mahoney? Handsome family.
Ryland stares at the man staring at his family.
The woman says, This is simply about workers who were continually exposed to
toxic
Your daddy doesnt know youre here, does he. He peers at Becky, who leans
back into the couch. They had a party when she was born. He brought cigars and
cider to the mill. Sam Behan, his old chum, teased him. During working hours,
Ry? Sam said, and Ryland said, Whos the boss? They all raised a glass and
toasted this girls birth.
Ryland leans forward. The girl stares at something over his shoulder. He cant
read her. Navajos. Never could read them. But her dad, Woody was a good man.
Didnt truck with unions. When they wanted to bring the union in, Woody said he
had a family to support. This Ryland knows for a fact.
Dont you worry about your dad, he says. Hes a strong man.
He looks at the news anchor lady. Her eyes are as bright as a childs, and her
grinning teeth are blue-white. Her hands, laced in a fist on her lap, are white,
too, and the skin pulls so tight it looks like her knuckles are about to bust
through.
One of the best men I know, Ryland says to her. Woodrow Atcitty. This girls
dad.
But Rosy catches them as theyre leaving. Now the four of them sit around the
kitchen table drinking coffee. Ryland sits in his chair in the living room. . .
. little chance the Navajo miners with legitimate claims can file. The red tape
is prohibitive, the lawyers saying.
On the TV a fancy man is breaking eggs into a dish. The man uses one hand to
break the eggs egg in the palm of the hand, little tap, then presto! On the
egg-breaking hand, the cook wears a Liberace ring. One of those rings that
stretches from knuckle to fist.
The lawyer says theyve only just begun to organize. He wants to have community
meetings. He wants to educate and motivate. Moneygrubbing lawyer. Ryland would
lay bets that guys on the clock. The man isnt sitting at his kitchen table out
of charity.
Liberace says, Whisk it up good. Hes making a confection.
Ryland watches him stir sugar into eggs.
Rosy wants them to know about Rylands handkerchiefs. All those years that he
worked in the uranium mill, his handkerchiefs were always stained yellow from
mucus he blew out of his nose. I have many questions and no answers.
We all have questions, the lawyer says. Maybe youd like to join us next
week. Were identifying key people in the region who might form a planning
committee.
Sure, Rosy says. Any day but Tuesday. She says something about a doctors
appointment Tuesday. Ryland strains to hear. He hits the mute button on the
channel changer. Shes saying hes got some sort of test scheduled.
What test? he calls out.
The kitchen goes silent. Ryland can feel them looking at each other. Then Rosy
yells, I told you about it. We scheduled this a month ago, Ryland. He stares
at the thick confection as Liberace pours it into a bowl. Now he hears a chair
skidding on the kitchen linoleum, and he watches his wifes reflection in the TV
screen as she comes into the living room. You agreed to it, she says quietly.
She says that Dr. Callahan recommended this test, that theyre going to take a
little tissue from his lung. Thats all. Its just a precaution, she says, and
he turns, giving her a look. It wasnt my idea, she hisses, her dark eyes
fiery. He wonders about that. Dont you remember?
Copyright © 2007 by Ann Cummins. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.
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