Running on Empty by Sandra Balzo Page B

turned to Mrs. B.
    She actually blushed. 'Sorry, but that is
what they call people who want to be with someone only because they are a celebrity
     or person of note.'
    'I've heard the phrase,' AnnaLise said, well aware that she herself could be accused
     of 'star-fucking.' At least until two weeks ago.
    'Movie actor, famous author, star football player,' Mrs. B prattled on, 'it does not
     matter. The woman involved is so impressed by the hero's reputation that she forgets
     he likely still leaves the toilet seat up and his underwear on the floor. All she
     sees is the glory.'
    Idiot.
    'Glory? What glory?' Bobby demanded. 'Hot shit high-school quarterback turned lukewarm
     college prospect?'
    'Turned cold-blooded abuser,' AnnaLise added.
    'Why did she stay?' Mrs. B seemed distressed at both the distasteful subject and the
     inconvenience of someone being abused.
    Bobby shook his head. 'I asked Kathleen, but your guess is as good as mine.'
    AnnaLise nodded. 'I've talked to a lot of victims and there's no one answer to that.
     In Kathleen's case, at least, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise — not that
     I would suggest it.'
    'Suggest what?' Bobby's mother asked. 'You are simply not making yourself clear, dear.
     One wonders what is being taught in schools these days.'
    No need to worry about Mrs. B — she was back to normal.
    'Suggest,' said AnnaLise through clenched teeth, 'that anybody should stay in an abusive
     situation. In Kathleen's case, it happens she didn't divorce him before he died and,
     therefore...'
    'Therefore,' Bobby took over, 'she'll inherit his
inheritance. If they'd gotten divorced, it would have gone to his heirs. In this case,
     probably some second-cousin twice-removed.'
    'Instead, Rance is removed,' AnnaLise mused. 'And it took just "once".'
    Silence, and AnnaLise realized both Bobby and his mother were staring at her in horror.
     'Not that I'm saying anything of the sort happened, of course.'
    'Of course,' Bobby said, with a head tilt toward his mother for AnnaLise's benefit.
    'Anyway,' AnnaLise continued, trying to oblige with a change of subjects, 'we were
     talking about DNA?'
    'An abomination,' Mrs. B thundered.
    Whoops. Wrong subject. 'I—'
    'Yet another way of controlling people,' Mrs. B continued as Bobby turned a scathing
     look on AnnaLise. 'That Big Brothers
movie was prophetic.'
    'Big brother, singular,' Bobby corrected. 'But the film was actually 1984
.'
    'When?'
    'Not when, what.'
    'What?'
    'The movies, both versions.'
    Mrs. B was struggling to regain ground. 'Fine. I shall take your word on the date,
     Bobby, as well as the fact that Richard Burton's last picture was Big Brother
. Singular.'
    'For the last time, Ma,' Bobby said testily. ' 1984
.'
    AnnaLise stepped in before he knocked his mother's block off. 'The title of the book
     was 1984
, Mrs. B, written by George Orwell in the year 1949. The movie you saw with Richard
     Burton was released during the year 1984.'
    'And called... 1984
?'
    'Correct.'
    'Huh. Hardly a coincidence, I would suspect.'
    'No, actually Orwell's widow—'
    'Will you two stop it!' Bobby exploded. 'Big Brother isn't watching and so what if
     he is? We put everything online anyway — what we do, where we go, what we think. Apparently
     we don't value our privacy all that much if we're the ones who give it away.'
    Mrs. B looked hurt. 'Now Bobby, there is no need to raise your—'
    Bobby kept going. 'I, for one, think the ancestry projects are a great idea. In fact,
     I sent in my own DNA swipe about a week ago.'
    'Bobby, you had no right to do that without consulting me!' Mrs. B roared. 'Our family
     is no one else's business.'
    If AnnaLise had any further doubt that Mama was right and Bobby was Dickens Hart's
     son, it evaporated.
    'Jesus, Ma, do you ever think about anyone other than yourself? It's like you're wearing
     blinders. Self-imposed blinders.'
    'That is quite enough, young man.' Mrs. B gave him a little shove so she could get
     up off the