./hen the doctor removed the plaster, Macon's leg came out
"dead-white and ugly. He still limped a bit, but he now had
no excuse for not getting on with the new U.S. guides that Julian
wanted. The New York trip was the first one, and Rose drove
him to the station to catch the train.
She was worried about Edward. 'I wish you weren't leaving
him with me,' she said. 'You know how out of control he gets.'
'What could happen in such a short time?' Macon said. 'I'll
be home by tomorrow night. If worst comes to worst, you could
lock him in the pantry till I get back.'
New York was a foreign city to Macon. He could never get
used to the sense of purposefulness there -everyone was always
rushing somewhere without a moment to look around them. He
began his usual visits to hotels and restaurants, making notes in
the old guidebook in his tiny, neat handwriting.
In the evening Julian wanted him to try a new restaurant,
which was on the top of an impossibly tall building. The cabdriver
who took him there clearly thought it was a bad idea.
'Cup of coffee there will cost you five dollars,' he told Macon.
Most of the people in the restaurant were in evening dress and
seemed to be celebrating something. Macon was given a table
without a view, and after he had given his order, he took his
drink over to one of the great black windows that encircled the
room from floor to ceiling.
All of a sudden, he thought he had died.
He saw the city far below him like a shining golden ocean, the
streets tiny lines of light, the sky a purple hollow that went on
forever.lt wasn't the height; it was the distance- his huge, lonely
distance from everyone who mattered, Ethan, Sarah ... He had
gone too far, he would never, ever get back.
His heart began to beat twice as fast as normal and his hands
shook. He dropped his glass, and ran clumsily across the room
and out the door. In the corridor he found a telephone and called
home, worrying that they would not answer. But Charles did.
'Charles? I'm on top of this building and ... and a silly thing
has happened. Listen- you've got to get me out of here.'
'You out! What are you talking about? You've got to get me
out!' Charles sounded unusually excited.
'What?'
'I'm shut in the pantry. Your dog won't let me out. It's lucky
there's a phone in here. You have to come home right away.'
'But I'm in New York! I'm on top of this building and I can't
get down!'
'Macon, do you hear that barking? That's Edward. Every time
I open the door he attacks me. And now he's attacking the door.'
Macon held the phone tightly. 'Charles, where's Rose?'
'She's out. Julian came to take her to dinner and-'
'Julian my boss?'
'Yes, and it's Porter's night for visiting his children. Macon,
I can't just sit here waiting for Edward to break through.'
How Macon wished he was safe in the pantry, surrounded by
all Rose's groceries lined up in alphabetical order!
'If you don't get me out of this, I'm going to call for the police
to come shoot him,' Charles said.
'No! Don't do that! Listen. I'm going to ... I'll phone Sarah.
She'll come over and take charge of Edward. Just wait!'
He hung up and found Sarah's number with trembling hands.
But she didn't answer. What now? What on earth now?
He looked through the other numbers in his wallet and saw
a name: Muriel Pritchett, animal trainer. She answered at once.
'Muriel?' he said. 'It's Macon Leary.'
'Oh! How're you doing?'
'I'm fine. Or, rather .. .'He tried to explain about Edward
and Charles and being on top of a building in New York.
'Let's make sure I've got this right,' Muriel said. 'Edward's
in your pantry-'
Macon tried again. 'Edward's outside the pantry. My brother's
inside, and says he's going to call the police to come shoot
Edward so I thought if you could go over and-'
'I'll go right away, and take Edward to the Meow-Bow.'
'Oh, wonderful. And there's something else ... I'm having this
kind of ... See, I'm on top of this very tall building and I don't
know what it is but something has scared the hell out of me.'
'Oh, I think people who go up those buildings are so brave.'
Macon gave a dry laugh, and held the phone more tightly.
'Yes, you ought to be feeling so proud of yourself, just being
up there!' she said. 'And Macon, when you get back from your
trip, we need to talk about Edward's training. Things just can't
go on this way, can they? I mean, this is ridiculous.'
'Yes. Yes, you're absolutely right,' Macon said.
'See you, then. Bye.'
After Macon hung up, he went back into the restaurant and
sat down at his table. He felt calm and tired and terribly hungry.
~ ~ ~
'I'll be honest,' Muriel said, 'my baby was not exactly planned
for. If you want to know the truth, the baby was the reason I
married Norman in the first place. But I didn't push him into it.'
She looked past Macon at Edward, who lay on the hall rug.
He'd had to be pushed down, but at least he was staying there.
'Now I'm going