"The bolt's in deep." he said. "This is going to take a while. Especially with only a butter knife and a pair of old scissors as tools
"Let's take a break. Harley." I said. "Neither of us has eaten much and we'll need to reserve our strength."
He nodded.
"I wish one of my grandmother's Realies would come by and scare the hell out of that Suze."
I smiled.
"Maybe itwill," I said.
We returned to what was now our hideaway and prison and had some water while we sat on the sofa.
"My stomach's grumbling," he said. "I guessIll have some more of that beef jerky. How about you?"
"I'm okay."
"Women can go much longer without food." he said as if it was a fault. "I can't even imagine going on a diet, but some of the girls I know at school live on air. If they gain an ounce, they go into a panic."
"I get hungry. I'm still just recuperating from last night," I said.
"Yeah." He bit into the beef jerky and then looked ravenously at the rolls. "I can't imagine her putting anything poisonous into those rolls. Wouldn't the baking burn it out anyway?"
"I don't know. Harley."
"They tasted pretty good. And that cheese seemed all right. Ill take a chance." he decided and tore a roll in two, stuffed a piece of cheese in it and gobbled it quickly. He offered some to me and I shook my head.
"Ill have some more tea in a while," I said.
"You're going to get sick."
"I'm all right. Harley. We're not going to be trapped here much longer," I predicted optimistically.
"Yeah, right." he said.
"He's still your grandfather," I said. "He's got to be a little worried." Harley looked at me as if I was crazy.
"She was his wife." he said, nodding at the old composition notebook that had been his grandmother's diary. "Look what he did to her.'
"Maybe he didn't realize what was happening," I said. "Maybe he was sorry,"
We had to have hope, didn't we? I couldn't let go of that. He nodded.
"I can't imagine how she lived down here all that time," Harley said. gazing around the basement. "Never seeing sunlight or stars and the moon. Never breathing fresh air. Never smelling grass and flowers and tree blossoms or hearing birds sing. Hell, not even hearing the sound of a car horn. These old foundation walls are as thick as in bomb shelters."
"I know," I said. "It's unimaginable."
And yet, I thought, here we were still trapped for nearly twenty-four hours and maybe even more.
"I don't think I can be that alone either. I mean. I'm a loner. I know, but once in a while, you need to talk to someone, see some television, hear a radio, just watch people walk and talk. Something," he cried. "But to sit here and live in your own mind day after day after day. I guess she was crazy."
"Or just very imaginative. Harley. Perhaps she looked at the room and thought it was beautiful. Maybe she used her memories of a sunset and a sunrise and that was enough."
"You know that can't be enough. I'm already going bonkers down here. I can feel my insides tearing apart with anger and frustration."
"Yes, but you're forgetting she felt safer here. She wanted to be here."
He thought a moment and nodded.