There were so many they were even piled up on the floor. And there were piles of phonograph records too.
There was a couch up against the opposite wall between the windows and it was made up like a bed, the way mine was. And there was a girl sitting on the couch in her pyjamas, only not a girl really because she wasnât so young any more. She looked more like a schoolteacher, sort of. She had black hair like Tanya, but it was cut straight across in bangs the way little kids have it, and her face was thin with a big nose like Tanya too, but the rest of her was so skinny it was flat all the way down. You could see that easy through the pyjamas, and you could see the way her hands and feet were skinny too.
She looked kind of sick to me. Her face was white and she had on sort of thick, shiny lipstick, almost purple, so it made her face look even whiter. When we came in, she was looking at a book, then she quick grabbed a piece of Kleenex out of a box on a little table in front of her and started to rub away at her nose. The way it was so red and the way her eyes were so shiny, I figured maybe she was crying about something, and that made me feel bad.
Tanya switched off the music and then walked over to the little table. There was a bottle on it with some white pills and Tanya grabbed it up and looked at it like she was good and sore. Then she shoved it into her pocket and said, âIf you arenât impossible.â
The way it looked, the girl didnât even hear what Tanya said. She kept looking at me in such a funny way, and she said, âHello. Ade you one of Lloydâs students?â
Dr Cooper said, âStudent, hell. This is George LaMain, the crusading journalist. George, this is Marion Gordon, Tanyaâs sister. Sheâs a poet without peer or periodical,â and Tanya said, âDonât strain yourself, Lloyd.â
The way Marion was leaning forward and looking at me made me feel all prickly in my stomach. She said, âDo you like poetry, George? Really like it?â and I said, âSure. I liked that music too. What was that?â
âWhat?â
I said, âThat music you were playing when we came in. It was all right.â
âOh, that was the Sibelius First. Did you really like it? Shall I play it again?â
I said, âSure,â but Tanya said, âOh no you donât. Just sit nice and quiet while I get the drinks. And take off your hat and coat, George.â
She went into the kitchen, and I pulled off the overcoat and my hat, and I put them on a chair that was standing empty. Then I sat down in an armchair and I felt the gun push into my leg. It didnât matter if they saw it or not, but it was better that they didnât. So when I sat down, I turned a little sideways and made believe I was getting set right, but meanwhile I slid the gun out and shoved it under the chair cushion.
It must have looked a little funny because Dr Cooper said, âHunting for buried treasure, George?â but I only said, âNo. I want to get set right.â I felt like pulling out the gun and showing it to him so he would know who he was fooling around with, but maybe that would scare Marion, and I didnât want her to stop looking at me the way she was.
She said, âYou know, youâve got a very striking face, George. Itâs youthful but very strong,â and I liked that too. The way she said it and the way she looked at me, my mind was going all around thinking if only Tanya and Dr Cooper would go away something big would happen. She hardly had any clothes on either, and it would be so easy I could see it all the way I would do it. I wouldnât kiss her because of the way she looked, but I would do everything else and find out all about it.
Then Tanya came in with a bottle of wine and some glasses and said, âThis is just some stuff we had around but itâll have to do,â and we all had some. It was sour but plenty strong, and when
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