The Glacier Read Online Free PDF Page A

him speaking to her softly, backlit by the light coming through the curtains. We can’t see his actions, or her, but we hear her quiet replies.
    SAMSON
    Is there anyone you would like me to contact for you?
    SICKLY WOMAN
    No. Just the bank.
    SAMSON
    I will certainly do that.
    SICKLY WOMAN
    Thank you, Sam.
    SAMSON
    You’re going to feel a little prick here.
    SICKLY WOMAN
    Ah—
    SAMSON
    It’s okay.
    SICKLY WOMAN
    Sam…
    SAMSON
    It’s okay.
    SICKLY WOMAN
    Sa—
    SAMSON
    It’s okay.
    Sam waits another quiet moment and then exits. Through the pale veil of the living room curtains we see him take a real estate lawn sign from out of his truck and put it up in the front lawn.
    Sam fires up the melody maker and pulls away.
    The sign on the front lawn reads: FOR SALE.
    ***
    Robert is curled up like a baby on top of the covers.
    The dresser, the mirror, the night stand. A clock ticks over the silence, surgically counting another day away.
    A tiny, tempting melody creeps into the bedroom and dances around his head like a swarm of drunken mosquitoes.
    Robert opens his eyes.
    He descends his driveway and waves Samson down. Sam pulls over and leans out the window like a thousand-watt bulb.
    SAMSON
    Howdy.
    ROBERT
    Hello.
    SAMSON
    What can I do for you?
    ROBERT
    Well… I’m not exactly sure.
    SAMSON
    Hot chocolate is pretty popular this season.
    ROBERT
    I’ll bet. What else do you have?
    SAMSON
    What else are we in the market for?
    ROBERT
    I’m not sure. Something a little stronger, I guess.
    Sam considers him.
    SAMSON
    You a cop?
    ROBERT
    No. Do I look like a cop?
    SAMSON
    Yes. Do I look like the ice cream man?
    Sam opens up the rear of the truck and leads Robert inside.
    ROBERT
    Holy smokes.
    The interior seems oddly and deceptively bigger than it could possibly be. Part laboratory, part showroom, the ice cream truck has been perceptibly re-sized and retrofitted as a state-of-the-art medicine wagon.
    SAMSON
    As you can see, I’m able to offer just about anything that you might be looking for. So. What is it that you’re looking for?
    Hundreds of bottles and jars are beautifully displayed on glass shelves—a dazzling rainbow of pills, powders, capsules, and exotic plants.
    ROBERT
    Gosh. Something for pain, I suppose.
    SAMSON
    What type of pain?
    ROBERT
    A general sort of pain.
    SAMSON
    Physical or mental?
    ROBERT
    Well I guess it’s sort of that gray area.
    SAMSON
    I see. Are you taking any medication, currently?
    ROBERT
    No, not really. Vitamins. Aspirin. Coffee, I guess. If that counts.
    SAMSON
    It depends on the quantity, of course. Can wreak havoc on the adrenals, but it’s my weakness too.
    How is your mortgage situation?
    ROBERT
    Fine. Paid off, actually. That’s one thing I’m not worried about. Why?
    SAMSON
    Just a stress indicator.
    ROBERT
    What’s this?
    Inside a solitary medicine cabinet, behind a glass door, there is a vessel containing a silver metallic liquid.
    SAMSON
    Ah, that’s just a novelty item.
    ROBERT
    It looks like mercury.
    Robert leans into the glass to gaze upon the curious, attractive substance.
    ROBERT
    It’s very beautiful.
    SAMSON
    Isn’t it?
    Sam moves to the work counter and begins working with a mortar and pestle and some herbal greenery.
    But Robert can’t take his eyes off the silver vessel. The shimmering liquid reflects a fish-eye view of the room.
    ROBERT
    Well, is it?
    SAMSON
    What?
    ROBERT
    Mercury.
    SAMSON
    Quicksilver, actually.
    ROBERT
    Oh… What’s the difference?
    SAMSON
    Semantics.
    ROBERT
    What do you mean?
    SAMSON
    Exactly.
    Robert draws a blank.
    SAMSON
    It depends on how you look at it.
    ROBERT
    Uh huh. What’s it for?
    SAMSON
    It’s not for anything.
    ROBERT
    Then why do you have it? What does it do?
    SAMSON
    It does have some therapeutic properties.
    ROBERT
    You just said it’s not for anything. Mercury is poison.
    SAMSON
    Sort of. In a way, yes.
    ROBERT
    So you poison