led Spritzer by the halter to the hole. The veterinarian gave him an inoculation and he instantly toppled over and in. The hole was the precise width and depth, which was a great relief to my father, but I’ve loathed the man ever since the day Spritzer fit the hole. I may sound like an unhappy person but I want to assure you I’m not. Never have I considered myself an unhappy person. I have fun.” She smiled at Liberty. “You resent me considerably, don’t you, I have just the tiniest of inklings.”
“It’s Teddy I’m concerned about. You’re just passing through.”
“I probably am just passing through, but what about you?” Janiella laughed. “The family situation intrigued me for a while, but its potentialities are just something I’m going to have to deny myself. I’ve been slumming if you want to know the truth. Rednecks have always given me a flutter, but family life is paranormal in my opinion. There’s no anticipation in family life. I’ve had some nice orgasms in this house, and I’ve introduced the concept of candlelight at dinners. But that’s about it. The Phantom is cute, but he lacks immunity. His heart’s a doormat, poor kid. He’ll know everything, but he’ll never learn.”
“You do this for a living?” Liberty asked. “You just spread joy where you can?”
“Do you know that big guy?” Janiella asked. “The guy who sells houses?”
“I know Charlie.”
“Drunks are so much trouble, aren’t they.”
“He’s a friend of mine,” Liberty said.
“You do look as though you’re abstaining, but that look can be very sexy. There’s a pallor to you that a tan can’t quite hide. But pallor appeals to a lot of men. It’s that suggestion of confinement. It’s difficult to believe you’re a babysitter. I had an experience with a babysitter when I was a little girl.”
“I’d prefer not to know about it,” Liberty said.
From the river there was the sound of an outboard engine starting up, sputtering, quitting. There was silence, then cursing.
“She was a fat girl,” Janiella said, “with hair down to her waist. She was always ironing her hair. She’d come over tothe house, study algebra, iron her hair, and then when it was my bedtime she’d masturbate me to get me to go to sleep. At Christmas my mother bought a little present for me to give to her. It was a bottle of perfume with a swan on the cap. Giving her that perfume was the worst, the very worst moment in my life.”
“That’s affecting,” Liberty said. “It really is.”
“I think the stress of that moment triggered my diabetes, but being able to pinpoint those two incidents from my early life was a real breakthrough for me.” Janiella snapped the fingers of her right hand. “Mother,” she said. “Father.” She snapped the fingers of her left. “I’ve felt completely in control ever since I’ve framed the perfume and Spritzer’s hole. I do what I want. I say what I want. I don’t finish what I begin if I don’t want. I just begin and begin.”
“You’ve got the keys to the candy shop,” Liberty said.
Janiella looked at her uncertainly. “You’re a little strange. Where have you been? Have you ever been anywhere?”
Liberty said nothing.
Janiella looked at Clem. “That dog would be pretty if his eyes weren’t so weird. Can he see out of those things? They look like ice cubes or something.”
“I’ll just wait for Teddy in his room,” Liberty said.
Teddy’s room was at the rear of the house and overlooked a small patio and swimming pool. Hoses had drained the pool and a man stood in it, studying a long, undulating crack in the tile. The man took a lollipop from his shirt and put it in his mouth. He shook his head at the crack. The lollipop did not make him forget the cigarette that he craved. He sucked in his stomach. He sensed there was someone in the room at his back, and he wondered if there was a naked womanstanding in it, or a woman wearing just panties maybe, studying
“It’s Teddy I’m concerned about. You’re just passing through.”
“I probably am just passing through, but what about you?” Janiella laughed. “The family situation intrigued me for a while, but its potentialities are just something I’m going to have to deny myself. I’ve been slumming if you want to know the truth. Rednecks have always given me a flutter, but family life is paranormal in my opinion. There’s no anticipation in family life. I’ve had some nice orgasms in this house, and I’ve introduced the concept of candlelight at dinners. But that’s about it. The Phantom is cute, but he lacks immunity. His heart’s a doormat, poor kid. He’ll know everything, but he’ll never learn.”
“You do this for a living?” Liberty asked. “You just spread joy where you can?”
“Do you know that big guy?” Janiella asked. “The guy who sells houses?”
“I know Charlie.”
“Drunks are so much trouble, aren’t they.”
“He’s a friend of mine,” Liberty said.
“You do look as though you’re abstaining, but that look can be very sexy. There’s a pallor to you that a tan can’t quite hide. But pallor appeals to a lot of men. It’s that suggestion of confinement. It’s difficult to believe you’re a babysitter. I had an experience with a babysitter when I was a little girl.”
“I’d prefer not to know about it,” Liberty said.
From the river there was the sound of an outboard engine starting up, sputtering, quitting. There was silence, then cursing.
“She was a fat girl,” Janiella said, “with hair down to her waist. She was always ironing her hair. She’d come over tothe house, study algebra, iron her hair, and then when it was my bedtime she’d masturbate me to get me to go to sleep. At Christmas my mother bought a little present for me to give to her. It was a bottle of perfume with a swan on the cap. Giving her that perfume was the worst, the very worst moment in my life.”
“That’s affecting,” Liberty said. “It really is.”
“I think the stress of that moment triggered my diabetes, but being able to pinpoint those two incidents from my early life was a real breakthrough for me.” Janiella snapped the fingers of her right hand. “Mother,” she said. “Father.” She snapped the fingers of her left. “I’ve felt completely in control ever since I’ve framed the perfume and Spritzer’s hole. I do what I want. I say what I want. I don’t finish what I begin if I don’t want. I just begin and begin.”
“You’ve got the keys to the candy shop,” Liberty said.
Janiella looked at her uncertainly. “You’re a little strange. Where have you been? Have you ever been anywhere?”
Liberty said nothing.
Janiella looked at Clem. “That dog would be pretty if his eyes weren’t so weird. Can he see out of those things? They look like ice cubes or something.”
“I’ll just wait for Teddy in his room,” Liberty said.
Teddy’s room was at the rear of the house and overlooked a small patio and swimming pool. Hoses had drained the pool and a man stood in it, studying a long, undulating crack in the tile. The man took a lollipop from his shirt and put it in his mouth. He shook his head at the crack. The lollipop did not make him forget the cigarette that he craved. He sucked in his stomach. He sensed there was someone in the room at his back, and he wondered if there was a naked womanstanding in it, or a woman wearing just panties maybe, studying
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