It's All Zoo by Gerald A. Browne

It's All Zoo by Gerald A. Browne

Author:Gerald A. Browne
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781453268445
Publisher: Open Road Media


VIII

After the movie, a wall-to-wall in color spy thing that Lillian thought was stupid and Graham enjoyed, they went to a place for crepes and cider. After that it was dark and they went home in a taxi, Graham aware of the space of seat she left between them.

The first thing Lillian did at home was kick off her shoes, punch the bed pillows soft and lie down. She shut her eyes, didn’t move. Graham watched her from across the room. Suddenly she hung over the edge and searched under for a book that had a bright pink ribbon marking a place in it. She switched on the little lamp that was clamped to the book cover, put on some tortoise-shell-rimmed glasses and read.

Graham sat in the window for a while. He saw the same view. He looked at Lillian and she didn’t look at him. He looked at his two suitcases near the door and thought about going. He didn’t really want to, so he stayed and tried to count stars. The sky he saw was floating clouds and the moon was like a high street light covered with gauze. He couldn’t find any stars. He heard a French siren far off, an ambulance or the police, and on the minor street below there were cars sometimes. Across the way a family was having dinner, the woman and man both fat at the table and no children there. He saw them pouring wine several times and the woman getting up and sitting again. He heard someone laugh a short sharp laugh and leaned out to look down but there was no one and the laugh wasn’t repeated.

When he looked at Lillian again she was still reading but now she was under the covers. On the floor was her dress in a bunch topped by her underthings. Her face was behind the book. He hadn’t heard her undress. He wished he had. “I’d better go,” he said, as if it were a suggestion to himself.

From behind the book Lillian told him, “There’s no bed in the room.”

He wondered what she meant.

She let the book flop and took off her glasses. “You can’t sleep at Fat Mother’s tonight. There’s no bed or anything in that room.”

“You should have told me. I could have kept my hotel room.”

“I didn’t think about it until now. It’s my fault,” she said, working her eyelashes some. “I guess you’ll have to sleep here.”

He looked at the floor and the chair. Probably she meant the floor, he thought.

“I don’t have any extra blankets,” she told him. “You’ll have to sleep with me. Is that all right?”

He couldn’t answer.

“Well, come to bed,” she ordered.

He started toward her.

“Take off your clothes and come to bed.”

She didn’t turn off the light for him. She didn’t look away. He had to do it. He undressed, trying to pretend that he was alone, his eyes avoiding hers that he knew were watching. He tried to do it nonchalantly, tossing his sweater on the chair seat and taking time to fold his trousers neatly and tuck his socks into his shoes.



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