After breakfast on Saturdays, if my mother brought her book to read at the table without clearing the dishes, I would say that I just needed to get something from my room and would slip out. The trick was to ease her into our routine, without her having to tell me. Otherwise the game would be over. As far as I can remember, it had happened only once or twice that I lost so suddenly, when my mother asked me directly if I would please leave her alone. On good days, when I collected points smoothly, the breakfast dishes remained on the table, and I left them there just as my mother had. If she
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