Body & Soul by Frank Conroy

Author:Frank Conroy [Conroy, Frank]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Claude had bought a pair of white tennis shoes and two pairs of white socks at a general store in Longmeadow. They did not have any pants, however, and that had been a disappointment. At the inn he mused over the problem during dinner—pork chops stuffed with prunes, baby carrots, and potato dumplings—and mentioned it to the lady with the hair net when she served him pie (blueberry this time).

"I need a pair of white pants," he said.

"What on earth for?" she said. "They'll just show the dirt."

"They all wear them."

"Over at the farm? Well, they got them in the city. You can't get white pants in Longmeadow."

"I know," Claude said.

She shook her head and made a soft clucking sound. "You look fine. Eat your pie." She left.

It was dusk when he got to the North Barn. The walk after dinner had refreshed him, and his new shoes made him feel light on his feet. He looked down at them, pleased at their brightness. People were moving through the entrance and he joined them, into the shadowy interior where he immediately sought out the men's room.

When he opened the door he heard a woman's sharp voice. "Can't come in now." Then he saw the flushed face of Claudia. The others from the quintet were crowded behind her in the small room. "Oh," she said, "it's you," and waved him in. He advanced. They were gathered around Dick Denby, who lay pale-faced with his back against the wall. He had apparently vomited in the toilet, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes were glassy. Everyone seemed to be talking at once. Claude noticed that Denby's hands were trembling.

"I can't," Denby said to no one in particular, "I can't."

"Of course you can," said Jerry, the bassoonist, lowering his gangly frame to get down on one knee. "You've done it dozens of times in front of a lot more people. Certainly you can."

"It's all in his mind," said Marty, the clarinetist, and gave a sudden giggle.

"What are you laughing at?" Roger was furious, gesturing with his French horn. "Kribbs from the Chicago Symphony is out there. Mc-Taggart from Cleveland! Grimes from Boston! Have you lost your mind? This is a catastrophe!"

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