back.
I wonder if she has babies because my dad said you need a girl to have babies and I like babies. Babies are nice to me. They don’t mind when I’m around.
He rolled her remains into an old carpet, which made it easier to transport her to the pickup. He was learning, wasn’t he? He was an innovator, never content with the status quo, always searching for ways to improve himself.
He drove the short distance to his chosen disposal place. This would be much easier than the last. Almost no chance of being spotted here, not this time of night. It was perfect-thematically appropriate (though the police were unlikely to get the joke), risk-free, and certain to be discovered.
Only an occasional plane passing overhead reminded him where he was. The glittering silver created a reflected brightness, but if he stayed on the far end of the lot, he would be safe. He opened a curved and unlocked silver door and laid her body to rest.
He hesitated. A ceremony before he departed seemed appropriate. Perhaps-some sort of prayer.
He lowered his head and spoke in susurrous tones.
“ ‘And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side of my darling-my darling-my life and my bride.’ ”
He took a handful of dirt and, just to give this a semblance of burial, sprinkled it over the body. “ ‘In her tomb by the sounding sea.’ ”
“You’ve got a date? A true-to-life, honest-to-God date?”
Lisa batted her eyelashes. “Control your envy.”
“And this isn’t with… what was his name?”
“The Human Plunger? Not him.” Lisa had an endearing habit of identifying all her boyfriends by reference to their kissing technique.
“No, I mean the advertising guy.”
“The Tongueless Titan. Ditched him.”
“Dare I ask why?”
“Kissed hard with his mouth open, but never any tongue.”
“Was that bad?”
“It was weird. Like he was administering CPR. And I asked myself, if he’s so reserved with his tongue now, is he ever going to-”
“Lisa!”
“Well, a girl has to wonder.”
I leaned through the open car window. “Have a good time. I’ll expect a full report.”
Lisa took my hand and squeezed. “Are you sure you’ll be okay, honey?”
“Of course I will.” Lisa was so sweet. She would do anything for me, I knew that. It frustrated her, not knowing what to do, what she could do.
“I don’t feel right, leaving you by yourself.”
I patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. “Don’t be silly. You can’t babysit me forever.”
“But it’s only-”
“We’d drive each other crazy and we both know it. You’re my best friend, Lisa, but even you can only tolerate me in limited doses.” We both laughed. “You’ve gotten me a great place to stay. I need some time to get it in order.”
“I could help.”
“Hey, you did all the packing. It’s only fair that I unpack.”
“There’s no rush.”
“I want the place looking nice before Rachel comes back.”
Lisa fell silent.
“You run along,” I said quickly, papering over the gap. “I’ll call you later.”
She smiled a little. “Okay. But if you need something, call me on my cell.”
“I will.”
“I won’t be far. I could be at your place in a heartbeat.”
“You shouldn’t say that. I might call. Interrupt some CPR.”
Her smile faded a bit. “I wish you would. But I know you won’t.”
Lisa hugged me again, then drove off in a sports car cloud of smoke and I made my way to the new apartment.
She’d done a terrific job, especially considering how little time she’d had to work on it. Wasn’t too expensive, either. The monthly rent was considerably less than my mortgage had been, when I paid it, so I might end up with a little extra spending money-a pleasant thought.
What little furniture I had was in storage, so I was stuck with the rudimentary apartment-provided stuff. The mattress was lumpy and hard, but I had a hunch I’d be sleeping soundly anyway.
I started by doing what little had to be done to
I wonder if she has babies because my dad said you need a girl to have babies and I like babies. Babies are nice to me. They don’t mind when I’m around.
He rolled her remains into an old carpet, which made it easier to transport her to the pickup. He was learning, wasn’t he? He was an innovator, never content with the status quo, always searching for ways to improve himself.
He drove the short distance to his chosen disposal place. This would be much easier than the last. Almost no chance of being spotted here, not this time of night. It was perfect-thematically appropriate (though the police were unlikely to get the joke), risk-free, and certain to be discovered.
Only an occasional plane passing overhead reminded him where he was. The glittering silver created a reflected brightness, but if he stayed on the far end of the lot, he would be safe. He opened a curved and unlocked silver door and laid her body to rest.
He hesitated. A ceremony before he departed seemed appropriate. Perhaps-some sort of prayer.
He lowered his head and spoke in susurrous tones.
“ ‘And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side of my darling-my darling-my life and my bride.’ ”
He took a handful of dirt and, just to give this a semblance of burial, sprinkled it over the body. “ ‘In her tomb by the sounding sea.’ ”
“You’ve got a date? A true-to-life, honest-to-God date?”
Lisa batted her eyelashes. “Control your envy.”
“And this isn’t with… what was his name?”
“The Human Plunger? Not him.” Lisa had an endearing habit of identifying all her boyfriends by reference to their kissing technique.
“No, I mean the advertising guy.”
“The Tongueless Titan. Ditched him.”
“Dare I ask why?”
“Kissed hard with his mouth open, but never any tongue.”
“Was that bad?”
“It was weird. Like he was administering CPR. And I asked myself, if he’s so reserved with his tongue now, is he ever going to-”
“Lisa!”
“Well, a girl has to wonder.”
I leaned through the open car window. “Have a good time. I’ll expect a full report.”
Lisa took my hand and squeezed. “Are you sure you’ll be okay, honey?”
“Of course I will.” Lisa was so sweet. She would do anything for me, I knew that. It frustrated her, not knowing what to do, what she could do.
“I don’t feel right, leaving you by yourself.”
I patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. “Don’t be silly. You can’t babysit me forever.”
“But it’s only-”
“We’d drive each other crazy and we both know it. You’re my best friend, Lisa, but even you can only tolerate me in limited doses.” We both laughed. “You’ve gotten me a great place to stay. I need some time to get it in order.”
“I could help.”
“Hey, you did all the packing. It’s only fair that I unpack.”
“There’s no rush.”
“I want the place looking nice before Rachel comes back.”
Lisa fell silent.
“You run along,” I said quickly, papering over the gap. “I’ll call you later.”
She smiled a little. “Okay. But if you need something, call me on my cell.”
“I will.”
“I won’t be far. I could be at your place in a heartbeat.”
“You shouldn’t say that. I might call. Interrupt some CPR.”
Her smile faded a bit. “I wish you would. But I know you won’t.”
Lisa hugged me again, then drove off in a sports car cloud of smoke and I made my way to the new apartment.
She’d done a terrific job, especially considering how little time she’d had to work on it. Wasn’t too expensive, either. The monthly rent was considerably less than my mortgage had been, when I paid it, so I might end up with a little extra spending money-a pleasant thought.
What little furniture I had was in storage, so I was stuck with the rudimentary apartment-provided stuff. The mattress was lumpy and hard, but I had a hunch I’d be sleeping soundly anyway.
I started by doing what little had to be done to
Similar Books
