THE OLD CALLAHAN PLACE

This is the house that Ed built. Solid. On a corner lot in Helios (Illinois). Real solid, down to its vegetable cellar. Beets and squash. This is the house Liz cleaned. All the cupboards turned out thorough. No skeletons. Just dust...These are the children who growed up there. Molly, Ed's favorite; John, firstborn son who didn't outlast his old man by more than three weeks. Tom. And Wally, worthless Wally. Liz dies. Molly marries. A ""mature bride"" in a dark blue hat with forget-me-nots. Picture that. On your stereopticon. He's a druggist, and he's got lots of bromides in stock. Like ""losing is the price you pay for loving."" Mrs. Corbett knows a few too....This is the book we read. Diligently, sleepily, we.