396
PARTISAN REVIEW
* * *
"Open the menu at least for God's sake," Heimlich's wife said. "Order
something."
"I had a big breakfast." Mick fished the ice cubes out of his water glass
and dropped them in the ashtray. Just looking at the ice cubes made his
teeth hurt. He pushed the ashtray across the table, away from him.
"You look
morbid,"
Heimlich's wife insisted. "You've got that refugee
poster-boy look. Force yourself now, this is on me."
"No really." Mick did not want to talk about food . The hunger was so
swollen in him that the whole idea of eating made him feel sick. "I mean
what are you doing around here anyway. Aren't you supposed to be like
working?"
Heimlich's wife handed her menu to the waiter. "Corned beef on rye.
And a Cel-Ray Tonic. And give him-1 don't know, give him the same
thing. And soup. Give him a humongous
bowl
of soup."
"No really," Mick said.
"What kind of soup for the gentleman?" the wai ter asked him.
"Chicken soup," Heimlich's wife said. "Naturally."
"Naturally," the waiter said. He reached over and collected Mick' s
menu.
Heimlich's wife took out a cigarette and lit it and leaned across the
table. She had the confiding look on her. ''I've been in this fucking
collla,"
she said, " for three
days
now."
"Two corned beef," the waiter said, "two Cel-Ray and one humon–
gous chicken soup for the gentleman."
" I think I missed a transition."
"They've got me hooked up to a life-support system. A coma, you
know? And they're having this humongous fucking argument over whether–
not they're gonna pull the plug. Althea wants'm to pull the plug so I won't
tell Christine about her and Jeffrey. Only old Doctor Matthew's got his eye
on her, though. He's all for keeping the old plug in the old socket. Only
Doctor Matthew's going on vacation and Ken is on Althea's side cuz of the
twins and so is Susan
CllZ
of Neal cuz just before I went into this coma he
decided once and for all he wanted to marry me and give up the priesthood,
for
good
this time, so meanwhile they're having this great big socio–
theological
thing
and meanwhile the network is not returning my agent's
calls so
meanwhile
I don't have any lines to learn and ['m not even on cam–
era until Friday when they come in for this big fucking close-up of me all
zonked out and probably drooling allover the fucking
pillow
when Susan
comes sneaking in to pull the plug and by that time I'll have either signed
my contract or I'll tell them where to stick it. Which is where, believe you
