1 CHARLESTON; S.C<br >Jason Beauregard Baynard III swung one army-surplus duffle bag<br >over a shoulder and kicked the other before him through the door of<br >his bedroom onto the coco matting of the upper piazza. Oleander，<br >pale yellow and ubiquitous， clambered over the railing from fat clay<br >pots at the edge. From the fluted pillars that supported the overhang，<br >wisteria and trumpet creeper fought for control of the old palmetto<br >taller than the house that charted two lifetimes between the upper<br >and lower piazza. Jason looked up at the palmetto s fan of leaves， its<br >ephemeral wisps and tufts of Spanish moss motionless as mist in the<br >moist heat of the early morning air. Jason leaned on his elbows over<br >the railing and let his eyes slide gradually down the trunk of the<br >palmetto. Oleander fell and bruised on the neat bricks of the garden<br >walk below. On the back of his neck， the sun poured slow， thick as<br >honey， hot， sweet; and the stultifying fragrance of the air quivered his<br >nostrils. He sneezed. Civilized! The most civilized town in the world.<br > Civilization. The very word was like a sneeze.<br > Jason sneezed again. No breeze from the harbor， hot， thick air， oh，<br >God， the cloying scents of Old Charleston， a walled and concentrated<br >garden club for ladies in fussy pastels and hats and gloves. I m allergic<br >to Old Charleston! Jason sneezed once more， with great satisfaction.<br >He gathered his duffles in his arms， a fat lumpy heap， and dropped<br >them over the rail. He looked down. Crushing oleander， the duffles<br >crumpled together on the garden walk like a body with all the bones<br >broken.<br > Jason turned to contemplate the palmetto again. It had grown.<br >When he and his sister， Tradd， were children， the palm fronds had<br >still encroached the upper piazza and you had to duck under jagged<br >petioles to reach the trunk. He saw Tradd s disheveled raven-colored<br >hair， her skirts hitched up， her tender knees twined around the trunk，<br >as once， on his dare， she d humped down the tree， monkey-style. The<br >h<br ><br >