Machine Dreams

Haviland
, washed before and after use each Christmas and Easter. The kitchen radio played carols and the house was filled with the smells of roast turkey and yams. The day felt long and slow and full; since he’d left school, each day had seemed completely separate from any other.
    Jean was doing pretty well. She’d wept easily the first couple of weeks after the lottery, but then she determined they’d have a normal Christmas. Well, not exactly normal. Dinner on Christmas Eve, since he and Danner would eat the big noon meal tomorrow with all the relatives at Bess’s, with Mitch.
    “Billy, you want another egg nog?” Danner leaned out of the kitchen doorway. “Or straight bourbon?”
    Jean’s voice, from the vicinity of the stove: “Don’t you dare give him straight bourbon.”
    “No thanks,” Billy told them. “Since you two are drinking so hard, I believe I’ll stay sober.”
    Danner looked nice in black velvet. Jean’s reproof:
I haven’t seen you in a dress since Billy’s high school graduation.
Now his sister smiled and disappeared again. Billy knew she’d made careful preparations for tomorrow; a special joint rolled in red and green papers to smoke in the car on the way to Bess’s house. But he wasn’t sure he’d partake. Though he didn’t leave for basic until January 5th, the relatives would all feel they had to mention his going into the army. Only Mitch would not refer to it.
Damn it
, was all he’d said to Billy, his face grave, the morning the lottery list was published.
    Radio music in the kitchen increased slightly in volume; Danner came into the living room and sat with Billy on the couch. “How do you think Mom is doing?” she asked in a low voice.
    “Good.”
    Danner nodded. “I think I may go to Florida, but I’ll leave onthe 26th and be back on the 2nd. Then stay a few days after you have to go. She shouldn’t be alone then.” She took a drink of her bourbon and coke. “You and Kato exchanging presents?”
    “Tomorrow night. I got her a gold necklace, a chain. Something she can keep. Real pretty.”
    “Want me to wrap it for you?”
    “They wrapped it at the store. Otherwise, I would have already asked you.”
    Danner looked at the tree. “What ever happened to that cop of hers?”
    “I guess he’s biding his time. Kato must have told him I’m on my way to foreign parts, though so far it’s only Kentucky.” He touched Danner’s arm. “You look cold, you’ve got goose bumps.”
    “It’s colder out here than in the kitchen.” She looked down at her drink.
    “Kato told me he was in Nam in ’65. He’s only been a cop for a year.”
    “Gee, Kato’s turning into a real heartbreaker. First you, now him.”
    “That’s not how it is, Danner. We don’t advertise things. I don’t stay over there. Now we’re like all the other couples in Bellington, we make it in my car.”
    She smiled. “Cars aren’t bad.”
    “Takes flexibility.”
    A pause.
    Danner frowned. “Do you think she’s sleeping with both of you?”
    Billy shook his head and gave his sister a sideways glance. “I don’t worry about those details. I don’t ask her if she sleeps with him. That’s her business, and his.”
    “I bet she isn’t,” Danner said slowly, and folded her arms, “not now.”
    “I think you’re right,” Billy said.
    “Right about what?” Their mother stood by the dinner table, holding the big platter of roast turkey.
    “Mom,” Danner reprimanded, “you should have let me bring that in for you.”
    “Who do you think carried it home from the store? It’s notmuch heavier now.” She smiled, pretty in her white wool dress. Billy had given her a corsage, a white gardenia, and she’d kept it in the refrigerator until five minutes ago. The white flower was just opening, ribboned with red satin and a sprig of holly. Billy knew she’d keep the ribbons in a drawer for years.
    They put the rest of the food on the table together: potatoes, peas, yams, gravy, bread dressing with walnuts, relishes, all in china serving dishes. Finally they sat down.
    “Enough for a party of eight,” Danner said. “Mom, maybe we didn’t need quite such a big turkey.”
    “We count for eight,” Jean responded, “and this is a celebration. Besides, these leftovers will last until the army comes for us.”
    Billy caught Danner’s warning glance. “Right,” he said, “and then you can always ship crates of turkey sandwiches to Fort Knox.”
    Jean handed Billy the