PEARL by Tabitha King

Author:Tabitha King [King, Tabitha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 1988-11-13T21:00:00+00:00

3

It continued to drizzle off and on all day, and the humidity remained oppressive. Too many people hung around with nothing to do except drink too much coffee and get acid and bitch about the weather. Normally Pearl enjoyed a good bitching session. Natural as it was for her to extract what she could out of anything, she also liked listening to people expressing their varied prejudices and accumulated wisdom, telling stories and jokes. People were always revealing themselves, mostly unconsciously, sometimes shyly, sometimes slyly, and she was often surprised and delighted. It was one of the perks of the business. But today everything and everyone was flat and exhausted.

David came in late and picked at his meal. He wore his dark glasses despite the gloom, like a woman hiding swollen or blacked eyes.

Pearl thought he’s probably just forgotten which pair of lenses he was wearing. What a dark day he must be having.

“It’s not so bad,” she said softly as she refilled his cup.

He slid his glasses to the end of his nose and looked at her gravely. “You’re not a poet. We all have Pathetic Fallacy Disease. It clouds up and we rain.”

“Is that anything like getting a period?”

She was successful in teasing a smile out of him.

“I wouldn’t know, but if it is, you have my sympathy.”

Walter McKenzie and Jean came in as he was leaving.

David stopped to shake Walter’s hand. “Did you order this weather, Walter, to try to get me to leave?”

Walter grinned. “Did not. You musta left the tub runnin’ upstairs.”

“I don’t bathe. It wasn’t me.”

Walter sniffed. “That you? I thought it was me.”

The old man and the young one shared a quiet laugh and David took his leave.

Jean tugged at Walter’s sleeve. “Come sit down, Dad.”

Walter huffed onto a stool and then the old man spent a long time peering closely at everyone sitting there, as if he weren’t sure who they all were, or they had all changed faces overnight. Then he plucked a menu shakily from its holder and squinted at it.

“Dad,” Jean asked impatiently, “what do you want? Pearl’s waiting on you.”

“Oh, shut up.” His voice trembled. “Leave me alone, can’t you see I ain’t even had time to read the menu?”

Jean’s face turned scarlet and her eyes filled up with tears. She snatched a hankie from her purse and dabbed frantically at her eyes.

Pearl patted Walter’s hand. “Take your time.” She spoke with a cheerfulness she did not feel.

She patted Jean’s hand too.

Jean sniffled bravely in response. “I didn’t mean nothing,” Jean whispered.

Walter looked at her as if he weren’t too sure who this faded middle-aged woman next to him was.

“Eh?”

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