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Show 14 Three Annis Robeck sits on the floor in front of the ancient desk in the hallway, searching for a packet of letters. The letters are not in the top or the second drawers, she knows; over the past several months she has already cleared these drawers of their entire contents, packed them in boxes, labelled the boxes like those in the bedroom with the names of their children, or tossed things easily away. But the next drawer will be harder; though no filing system has determined the contents of these drawers, this third one seems primarily given over to the artifacts of a generation of children: Roddy, Evan, dear lost Luel. At the top of the drawer are recent letters, photographs of Roddy and Even in middle-age with their own assorted children, announcements of Rod's promotions and Evan's exhibitions and copies of two thin books of poetry Luel had published, just before her death. There is a carpeting of postcards from various travels. A little further down in the drawer there will be letters from all of them in early adulthood, and while they were still in various degrees of school; still further down will be the artifacts of their childhoods. But the letters Annis is searching for will be close to the surface; they were written only a couple of years ago, one from each of the three. ."What are you going to want," Annis and John had written to each of them, "when the time comes?" :.. Roddy had said he wanted the house; Luel, renouncing the world for a garrett and a purely poetic life had answered hotly that she did not wish to possess anything; Evan had telephoned in alarm. |