eemed to think they would be better off if he left。 That things would
stop hurting。 His daddy hurt almost all the time； mostly about the Bad Thing。
Danny could almost always pick that up too： Daddy's constant craving to go into
a dark place and watch a color TV and eat peanuts out of a bowl and do the Bad
Thing until his brain would be quiet and leave him alone。
But this afternoon his mother had no need to worry and he wished he could go
to her and tell her that。 The bug had not broken down。 Daddy was not off
somewhere doing the Bad Thing。 He was almost home now； put…putting along the
highway between Lyons and Boulder。 For the moment his daddy wasn't even thinking
about the Bad Thing。 He was thinking about 。。。about。。。
Danny looked furtively behind him at the kitchen window。 Sometimes thinking
very hard made something happen to him。 It made things — real things — go away；
and then he saw things that weren't there。 Once； not long after they put the
cast on his arm； this had happened at the supper table。 They weren't talking
much to each other then。 But they were thinking。 Oh yes。 The thoughts of DIVORCE
hung over the kitchen table like a cloud full of black rain； pregnant； ready to
burst。 It was so bad he couldn't eat。 The thought of eating with all that black
DIVORCE around made him want to throw up。 And because it had seemed desperately
important； he had thrown himself fully into concentration and something had
happened。 When he came back to real things； he was lying on the floor with beans
and mashed potatoes in his lap and his mommy was holding him and crying and
Daddy had been on the phone。 He had been frightened； had trie