downstairs three years prior, she had to admit she missed the sound of flipping pages as he read Rimbaud each night before bed. Oh well. For herself, she had the complete works of Christopher Marlow to keep her warm at night, and you can believe that Faust’s dealings with the devil was enough to keep anyone company!

When her lids finally felt sufficiently heavy, she dimmed the lights and pulled her satin night mask down over her placid eyes, and, as the sound of heavy rain drowsily continued the rhythms of classical music into the night, she slipped into slumber.

But then: pitter patter pitter patter… “Mommy?”

“Janie? What happened honey? Did the thunder frighten you?”

“No, but the lightening is really bright, mommy. I can’t sleep.”

“Do you want to crawl into bed with me?”

“Okay.” Pitter patter pitter patter…rustle rustle…

“Are you good, Janie hon?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Love you, Janie Wanie.”

“Love you, mommy.”

“You’re okay?”

“I think so.” And so the minutes ticked by. Now Gail was awake again, fully. Her mind began to race over the little events in her life, present and future. She had to host this month’s book club meeting. She thought she would have it in the garden. The baby blue eyes should be in bloom, not yet killed by the torturous summer heat. A little white wine and some cucumber sandwiches would be perfect. It should be darling, as long as Lilly finds it in her heart to keep her goddamned eyes in her head and off Gail’s cleavage. Honestly. It was a privilege to have a lesbian in the group—in fact it was a social goldmine—but was it worth it to be ogled in that manner? Still, Lilly IS a very beautiful and strong woman. Sometimes Gail would catch her mind wandering about her…Peter never thanked her for the nutritious meal she had prepared tonight. Gail knew that sprouts and bean curd was not his favorite dish, but she had worked very hard on the cream fennel sauce—he could have said SOMETHING. Gail thought she could hear him breathing, even all the way downstairs.

Wide awake now. Shit. She nudged Janie with her foot. Janie moaned, half asleep. Gail nudged her again, harder. “Janie, honey, are you awake?”

“No.”

“You must be excited for your classmate’s birthday party Saturday. Is she going to be nine years old now? Already?”

“Mommy, I’m sleepy.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think so.”

Gail knew there was nothing for it. If she was going to rest, she was going to have to put Janie to work. She’s old enough to pay her keep now, thought Gail, so she can help me sleep. “Do you want to nurse, honey?”

“Okay, mommy. Yummy.”

And as Janie rolled into her mother’s breast and curled into the fetal position, ready to suckle, Gail could already feel peace overtake her. Darkness overtook her mind.

At that moment, the incredibly intelligent race of aliens parked on the far side of Saturn blew up the entire planet Earth, having finally grown weary of the experiment they had begun so many billions of years ago. The whole thing was fucked anyway.