red into his eyes.

"Say it again, Timmy--_say it again_!" She looked around wildly.
"He spoke, Jerry, as clear as anyone! He said 'I want that one,' and
pointed! Timmy ... darling ... _angel_ ... say it again!"

Timmy's face twitched uncertainly, giving the effect of a confused play
of expressions. For a moment he looked as though he would cry, but then
the crumpled, puckered lines magically smoothed. The eyes, dull and
blank, stayed dry. He made a senseless noise and slobbered in doing so.
His jaw was slack, his chin wet.

Jerry felt slightly sick.

"Get up, Helen." He lifted her somewhat roughly to her feet, overrode
her babble. "You're frightening the ... the child."

"He _talked_, Jerry ... you heard him! _Didn't_ you hear him!"

"Come in the living room and sit down." She was half-carried, her
protests ignored. There was a certain grim determination in his actions
as he made her comfortable. "Now we're going to face it, Helen. It can't
be put off. Timmy was heart-wrenching enough by himself, but I've had to
watch the change in you in the past few months. You're getting ... well,
we'll call it hysterical. I could cut off my arm for saying this, honey,
but, if we keep Timmy any longer, you'll just have a breakdown, that's
all!"

She moaned softly, rocking back and forth in misery's timeless attitude.
"I can't help it, Jerry. I ... just ... can't ... help it."

"I know, I know. So I'm making the decision for both of us, here and
now, and on my head be it. Timmy will have to be put away this week,
permanently."

"No!" Her wail was more of anguish than of protest.

"Yes! I can't stand coming home from work day after day to find you've
manufactured some new evidence to delude yourself there's hope for him.
One day he took the spoon in his hand to feed himself, another day he
focused his eyes and looked around the room as though he was really
taking everything in--"

"You said you believed me!"

"So I did--at first. So I'd sit around all evening watching him,
_willing_ him to do something intelligent. And did he? No. Hon, I don't
want to be unkind to you or to him, but I can't stand seeing you delude
yourself, making yourself sick. We've both taken more than is good for
us. We're at the end of our rope. We've got to face it now and do what
should have been done long ago. It's not as if Timmy will miss us. He
doesn't even know us, after four years!"

She gathered her forces, shut her eyes tight as if to de