Résumé With Monsters by William Browning Spencer Page A

computer screen.
     
    And didn't anyone notice that Monica Gibson was no longer interested in Lucille Ball? Well, no, of course not, because these were new people. They did not know that Monica was an insufferable fan of the original I Love Lucy show and all its interminable incarnations. Monica could—and would—quote entire episodes. Like all fanatics, she found it inconceivable that others did not share her enthusiasm, and she even had audio cassette tapes of Lucy material which she played incessantly.
     
    Not anymore. No Lucy tapes. No Lucy stories. No Lucy dialogue. And anyone who had known Monica prior to hospitalization would not have missed this transformation, as noteworthy as, say, a born-again Christian suddenly forswearing mention of Jesus or salvation.
     
    As soon as Philip understood that Monica was now externally operated, much became clear. Her zombie-hood explained her boss' new, cavalier manner with her. In the past, Ralph had always been a little frightened of Monica, fearing she would quit. Now he spoke to her without cringing or wringing his hands, and he abandoned all the wheedling body language and facial expressions of supplication that he had previously used to urge her on.
     
    "I need this, this and this," he would say, dumping the papers on her desk.
     
    Monica would nod rhythmically, like an addled geriatric on a porch swing.
     
    One weekend several weeks later, Philip talked Amelia into going to a movie. Her resolve not to see him until he destroyed the novel that came between them had been weakened by her delight in her new job. The movie they saw was about a lot of postwar baby boomers who were living in California and experiencing mid-life crises that caused them to drive expensive cars very fast, have sex with shallow people, and question the value of their jobs as movie directors, fashion designers, and architects.
     
    After the movie, Philip and Amelia went to The Magnolia Cafe.
     
    Amelia looked different, her features sharper somehow. He realized that her hair was newly cut. Pale-orange lipstick made her mouth seem oddly childlike, and when she briefly put on large, round glasses to study the menu, Philip felt a pang of protectiveness and something approaching panic.
     
    Amelia talked about her new job at Pelidyne .
     
    "I'm learning all about computer graphics," she said.
     
    Philip listened with a growing sense of dismay.
     
    Amelia told a humorous anecdote about her coworker, Thelma, who had worked at Pelidyne for thirteen years.
     
    "Don't," Philip wanted to shout, "become too attached to your coworkers."
     
    Philip studied the restaurant's walls, which were covered with the watercolors of a local artist who appeared to be obsessed with frogs and their relationship to extremely large, nude women.
     
    "Mr. Grayson says I'm a very quick learner," Amelia said. "He says most people who already know about computers can't figure the database out because..."
     
    "The Dada base?" Philip said. "Ah." Worry muddled him. When the waiter came to the table and tried to engage them in a discussion of Umberto Eco's latest novel, Philip waved the man away.
     
    "Philip, are you okay?" Amelia asked.
     
    "I've had a bad week," Philip said. "Bad dreams."
     
    Amelia frowned. "I'm sorry. I still think you might look into some group therapy."
     
    "I have a therapist," Philip said, noting some coolness in his voice.
     
    "Yes, I met her, remember. She's kind of old, isn't she? And just what are her credentials?"
     
    "Well, she's still alive," Philip said, wondering just why he was growing suddenly irritable. "She's old and still alive, those are certainly credentials."
     
    Later, he drove Amelia to her house and kissed her on the cheek under the porch light that was exploding with fat white moths and brown beetles that pinged against the screen door. In the past they had been lovers. He had stuck his tongue in her belly button. Now he planted a chaste kiss on her cheek. It was