Slow Fade by Wurlitzer Rudolph

Author:Wurlitzer, Rudolph [Wurlitzer, Rudolph]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: General, Fiction
Publisher: Drag City Inc.
Published: 2011-06-20T16:00:00+00:00

DELHI. TRAIN STATION — MIDDAY . . . Jim and Lacey descend from the train carrying only one bag apiece. Stunned and dazed from the blistering heat, they walk slowly down the crowded platform. . . . A plump Indian in a white shirt and pale blue turban stands at the end of the platform with a sign: Jim and Lacey Rankin . . .“You are to please follow me,” he says, picking up their bags as they identify themselves. They follow him through the station and onto the street to an old white Chrysler sedan parked in back of a ricksha stand. The driver puts their bags in the trunk and opens the back door. . . . A blond, blue-eyed woman, large-boned and fleshy underneath a straw hat and yellow cotton dress, leans over from the backseat, one leg extended in a plaster cast. “Must excuse me,” she says in a high-pitched upper-class English accent. “Broke my foot falling off a horse. Humiliating. I’m Miranda Witherspoon. So glad. Terrible time. Not sure what train you were on, your telegram from Madras very vague. Your father called this morning all lathered up about your missing sister. Your father is a lion to work for. My husband, Charles, is quite terrified of him. I say, you’re traveling awfully light.”. . . Lacey explains that the rest of their bags were stolen on the train. . . . Miranda is outraged. “How ugly it’s all getting. There’s no point in traveling any more. It’s a defensive life now, at best. . . . But never mind. Everything can be replaced and it’s more amusing to have your clothes made for you here. One never brings the right things.”. . . The huge car slowly maneuvers through a side street as hands press against the window for alms. They turn into a wide boulevard, passing government buildings and then a row of fashionable hotels and villas set back from the road. Entering through an open iron gate, they park in front of a large nineteenth-century colonial house surrounded by flat well-clipped lawns and a variety of terraced flower gardens. Suddenly they are harbored inside a familiar world of comfort and control and they are glad to be there. . . . A uniformed servant opens the door and they follow Miranda as she hobbles inside. . . .

TO THE INTERIOR . . . Charles Witherspoon, his taut athletic face full of concern and studied alertness, strides across the cool Cambodian tiles of the veranda, through the narrow glass doors, into the spacious Edwardian living room where they all stand waiting for him, servants offering glasses of sherry and elegant hors d’oeuvres. Charles wears white cotton slacks and a starched white shirt with pink collar and is all business and hysterical prep-school charm. . . .“Wonderful to finally see you. I’ll fill you in on your sister before your father’s call. That’s in a few hours. I’ve quite a sheet on her, but you’ll be relieved to know she’s okay.

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