Chapter 17"Oh, Willy," she said. "You're eaten up inside."
He lay on the daybed in the small back room and looked out the open window; It was late afternoon, and the sun, dipping below the horizon, was sending a red glow to the underside of a long, rippling cloud that hung over the treetops and houses to the west. A fly buzzed against the windowpane; and the pungent smell of garbage being burned in neighbors' yards hung in the still air.
"What?" said Smith absently and turned to his wife.
"Inside," said Sharon. "The doctor said it's spread everywhere. Oh, Willy, poor
Willi."
"Yes," said Smith. He couldn't care much. "Well, you don't need to worry. It's best not to think about it."
She didn't answer and he turned back to the open window and watched the light dim until there was just a
