From the Corner of His Eye

sandwiches and, little dried fruit.
        While they ate, they circled the observation deck more than once, relishing the magnificent vistas. During the second circuit, Naomi put one hand against the railing and discovered that some of the supports were rotten.
        She didn't lean her weight against the handrail and wasn't in any danger of falling. The pickets sagged outward, one of them began to crack, and Naomi immediately retreated from the edge of the platform to safety.
        Nevertheless, Junior was so unnerved that he wanted to leave the tower at once and finish their lunch on solid ground. He was trembling, and the dryness of his Mouth had nothing to do with the cheese.
        Quavering, his voice, and strange to his own ear: I almost lost you."
        "Oh, Eenie, it wasn't even close." … Too close, too close."
        Climbing the tower, he hadn't broken out in.I sweat, but now he felt perspiration prickle his brow.
        Naomi sullied. She used her paper napkin to daub at his damp forehead. "You're sweet. I love you, too."
        He held her tightly. She felt so good in his arms. Precious.
        "Let's go down," he insisted.
        Slipping free of his embrace, taking a bite of her sandwich, managing to be beautiful even while talking with her mouth full, she said, "Well, of course, we can't go down until we see how bad the problem is."
        "What problem?"
        "The railing. Maybe that's the only dangerous section, but maybe the whole things rotten. We have to know the extent of the problem when we get back to civilization and call the forest service to report it."
        "Why can't we 'just call and let them check out the rest of it?"
        Grinning, she pinched his left earlobe and tugged it.
        Ding dong. Anyone home? I'm taking a poll to see who knows the meaning of civic responsibility.
        He frowned. "Making the phone call is responsible enough."
        "The more Information we have, the more credible we'll sound, and the more credible we sound, the less likely they are to think we're just kids jerking their chain."
        "This is nuts."
        "Brazil or hazel?"
        "What',"
        "If It's nuts, I don't recognize the variety." Having finished her sandwich she licked her fingers. "Think about it, Eenie. What if some family comes up here with their kids?"
        He could never deny her anything she wanted, in part because she rarely wanted anything for herself.
        The platform encircling the enclosed observation post was about ten feet wide. It seemed solid and safe underfoot. Structural problems were restricted to the balustrade.
        "All right," he reluctantly agreed. "But I'll check the railing, and you stay back by the wall, where it's safe."
        Lowering her voice and speaking in a Neanderthal grunt, she said, "Man fight fierce tiger. Woman watch."
        "That's the natural order of things."
        Still grunting: "Man say is natural order. To woman, is just entertainment.
        "Always happy to amuse, ma'am."
        As Junior followed the balustrade, gingerly testing it, Naomi stayed behind him. "Be careful, Eenie."
        The weathered railing cap was rough under his band. He was more concerned about splinters than about falling. He remained at arm's length from the edge of the platform, moving slowly, repeatedly shaking the railing, searching for loose or rotten pickets.
        In a couple minutes, they completed a full circuit of the platform, returning to the spot where Naomi had discovered the rotten wood. This was the only point of weakness in the railing.
        "Satisfied?" he asked. "Lets go down."
        "Sure, but lets finish lunch first." She had taken a bag of-dried apricots from her backpack.
        "We ought to go down," he pressed.
        Shaking two apricots from the bag into his band: "I'm not alone with this view. Don't be a killjoy, Eenie. We know it's safe now."
        "Okay." He surrendered. "But don't lean on the railing even where we know it's all right."
        "You'd make someone a wonderful mother."
        "Yeah, but I'd have trouble with the breast-feeding."
        They circled the platform again, pausing every few steps to gaze at the spectacular panorama, and Junior's tension quickly ebbed. Naomi's company, as always, was tranquilizing.
        She fed him an apricot. He was reminded of their wedding reception, when they had fed slivers of cake to each