The Celestial Bed by Irving Wallace

Author:Irving Wallace [Wallace, Irving]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-05-23T01:50:25+00:00

Six

Because Gayle’s bedside alarm clock had gone off while she was still in the midst of her dream, the dream involving Paul Brandon and herself was momentarily vivid.

She supposed what had triggered the dream had been her thought last night, while preparing for bed, that she must telephone Paul for a date, as she’d promised, and that she wanted to call Paul then and there about seeing him. But she had been too exhausted to attempt the call, and had fallen asleep immediately.

Now, in the morning, Paul Brandon was still on her mind. In the dream, she had been on something like a South Sea Island, a remote part of Tahiti maybe, and she had been running through a tropical forest, and Paul had been chasing her. She suspected that she had not been running too fast.

Squinting at her clock, she knew she could not take the time to telephone him. She could not risk being late for the Miller Analogies Test that would complete her application to the UCLA graduate school. She had already taken her Graduate Record Examination Aptitude Test and the Advanced Test in Psychology, and felt she had done well with both. That left the Miller Analogies Test, and she had better be at her best with no distractions.

Out of bed, she hastened into the shower, dried, dressed, made up her face, and rushed through breakfast. Then, briefcase in hand, she started for the door as her living room telephone rang.

She backtracked, snatching up the receiver, thinking it might be Dr Freeberg, or even Adam Demski or Chet Hunter.

She recognised the voice at once. The caller was Paul Brandon.

‘Hi, Gayle,’ Brandon was saying. ‘I’ve been sitting beside my phone day and night, almost. I’ve been waiting for the call you

promised to make. My phone hasn’t rung once. Have you been trying to tell me something?’

She would be barely on time for her exam, but she had to explain. ‘I’m sorry, Paul. The road to “I’m sorry” is paved with good intentions. I’ve just been so busy I can hardly turn around. You know I have two patients now — ’

‘I know, but still.’

‘That means two daily consultations with Dr Freeberg. And two detailed reports for him after the sessions. Then other things, like pulling this house together. Right now I’m on my way to Los Angeles to take the MAT, which goes with my applications to UCLA. Anyway - ’

‘Anyway, where does that leave me, Gayle?’ Brandon insisted. ‘I can tell you. It leaves me alone, and very lonely.’

‘I want to see you,’ she answered, and then with emphasis, ‘very much. I’ll call you later this afternoon. Are you working tonight?’

‘Not tonight. I’ll be through with my patient by six. After that, I suppose, I’ll be dining alone.’

‘No, you won’t,’ Gayle said impulsively. ‘You’re going to have company. A real flashy date. Me. How’d you like to have a home-cooked meal at my place? Do you like pasta?’

‘I love pasta if you go along with it. What time do you want me to be there? Eight?’

‘Closer to nine would be better.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.