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Show 86 most of the time, in fact-when it passed from her, and they had fun together. Then, she would forget those other moments; and it was as if they had never existed. i She did not know what to think about them. It was probably better not to think about them at all. She pushed them from her mind, concentrating instead on laying out the silverware. The ship turned back. By that weekend the missile crisis was over. At school Monday, although not completely convinced that it had passed, everyone was relieved. Over the public address system during homeroom, the principal led a prayer of thanks. As Sharon talked with her friends, the memory of her own fear,, of those strange moments, began to slip away, to fade. They were, after all, of the imagination. The world was the world. That other, those fears, was only that-fears. They had no hard reality in them now. Reaching home, she was almost in a joyful mood. Tonight when Oscar came home, she would ask about Saturday night: if she went to the Greens for supper, she would not be able to fix supper here, that was the problem. She should ask Katie. But that afternoon Katie was in her usual foul mood. Now Sharon could read the severity of that mood on sight-the furrowed brow, the strained features-as if some inner acid was working on her-the quick, blazing eyes-she simply stayed out of Katie's way as much as possible, waiting for Oscar to come home. But that evening Oscar was preoccupied, detached. She hesitated asking him. He banned the kids to the family room in back, and sat alone in his easy chair in the front room, reading the paper. When she did |