THE NEXT DAY HER father came home early from the store. Her mother rushed in moments later. Her last appointment, Lisa Small, a color and cut, had been late, so she’d had to leave her under the dryer. She was taking off her smock when Mr. Cooper knocked on the door. He was wearing a dark suit and white shirt but came in unloosening his tie. It had been in the eighties for the last two days. The Coopers’ whole house had air-conditioning, but the Pecks’ didn’t, just up in Ruth’s room. They were sitting at the kitchen table. There was a fizzy pop as her father opened a can of ginger ale for Mr. Cooper. Store brand, of course. Lately everything was generic. Not that it mattered to any of them, only Ruth, who said it was just the chintziest way to live. “Thank you, my friend,” Mr. Cooper said in that smooth way he had. Overbearing, her mother thought, but then her father would remind her of Andy’s difficult childhood, an abusive father and mentally ill mother, so there was a lot he’d had to overcome in order to be successful.
What do You think about Light From A Distant Star?
