Among the Missing
Excerpt
Safety Man
Safety Man is all shriveled and puckered inside his zippered nylon carrying
tote, and taking him out is always the hardest part. Sandi is disturbed by him
for a moment, his shrunken face, and she averts her eyes as he crinkles and
unfolds. She has a certain type of smile ready in case anyone should see her
inserting the inflator pump into his backside; there is a flutter of protective
embarrassment, and when a car goes past she hunches over Safety Man's prone
form, sheilding his not-yet-firm body from view. After a time, he begins to fill
out—to look human.
Safety Man used to be a joke. When Sandi and her husband, Allen, had moved to
Chicago, Sandi's mother had sent the thing. Her mother was a woman of many
exaggerated fears, and Sandi and Allen couldn't help but laugh. They took turns
reading aloud from Safety Man's accompanying brochure: Safety Man—the perfect
ladies' companion for urban living! Designed as a visual deterrent, Safety Man
is a life-size simulated male that appears one hundred eighty pounds and six
feet tall, to give others the impress ... read full excerpt from: Among the Missing ebook
