She said he looked better. He insisted it wasn't true. Then both were silent. They ate carefully--lonely people no longer astonished by their loneliness.

“His was cancer of the left lung; she had lost two breasts. Her grey eyes narrow…”

“Once upon a time, out of nowhere a car appeared and headed straight for Mal Ben…”

“She felt her most recent lovers lay like dumb victims along her thighs.”

“Death was surely not an ephemeral interloper; its lasting effect was grating an…”