conduct unbecoming a Rumson girl. I’m Janet.” She looked at me. “My parents and I are leaving in the morning, Danny. For Lake Tahoe. We specialize in lakes. So I guess this is good-bye.”
She approached and then as she leaned in I put my hand on my gun in case she was planning to go for it again but all she did was whisper in my ear: “Room 225. I’ll leave the door unlocked, my darling.” She brushed my earlobe with her lips, then Darla and I watched her walk back inside.
“What was that all about?”
“She reminds me of somebody I think I used to know.”
“Oh, Danny, you’re starting to remember?”
“I think so. A little.”
“That’s great.”
“Where’s Bud and everybody?”
“Discussing ‘important business.’ They told Violet and me to get lost. The crummy bastards.”
The sounds of Sally Layne and her band floated out onto the terrace. We looked back into the Moonlight Room, could see Sally Layne dramatically lit up in the dark, covered in the cold fire of her gown.
“That should be me,” Darla said softly.
“You miss singing?”
She nodded. She looked at me. “Wanna go down to the lake?”
We were the only ones on the little road. The pines crowded in close as the lights of Birkenhead Manor disappeared behind us. All we could hear was the wind in the tops of the trees and our shoes on the pavement.
“’Member that bear in the lobby?” said Darla.
“Yeah.”
“Think there’s any more like him out here?”
“I doubt it. I think the pioneers killed all the bears and the Indians and so on.”
“It’s still pretty scary though.”
“Wanna go back?”
“No.” And then her hand found mine.
“Danny?”
“Yeah?”
“I hear the guys talking about you sometimes. I hate to say it, but—it’s like they’re making fun of you. It’s like they don’t respect you.”
“What do they say?”
“They make jokes about you being stupid. ’Cause you can’t remember stuff. Which shows you how stupid
they
are. And they got this name for you.”
She hesitated.
“What?”
“Limpy. Two Gun Limpy Landon.”
“Dick? He calls me that?”
“No, not Dick. I think he really cares about you.”
“And Bud? What does he say about me?”
“It’s funny with Bud. I can tell he really likes you. But he never wants to talk about you. Except to make sure you haven’t been getting fresh with me.”
“How come you’re telling me this?”
“I just think you should know who your friends are. That’s all.”
It seemed like there were about ten times as many stars up here in the mountains as down in the city, and they shined above us between the pines like a parallel heavenly road. I started thinking as we kept walking and didn’t find the lake that maybe we’d taken the wrong road and we were lost like Tom and Becky and I would have to save her from Injun Joe; then we came out on the lake.
We could see the lights of hotels and cabins on the dark shores, and from the south, where the little village was, we could hear faintly voices, music, laughter. The wind moved on the lake and turned the reflected moon into wiggling quicksilver. The wind was chilly, and Darla shivered; I took my coat off and draped it over her shoulders.
We walked a bit. We saw the lights of a boat out on the lake, then heard the low growl of its engine. I wondered if we were anywhere near where they found Doc Travis’s head.
“Does it ever seem strange to you?” said Darla. “Just being alive? Why is there anything here anyway? The lake. The stars. You and me. The world would make a lot more sense if it just didn’t exist.”
“I love you,” I said.
“Oh Danny. No you don’t.”
“Yes I do.”
Silence from Darla.
“Don’t you like me a little? Sometimes I think you do.”
“Sure I do. I like you a lot. That’s why I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m not gonna get hurt.”
She stopped walking and we faced each other.
“Listen, Danny. Take my word for it. You
She approached and then as she leaned in I put my hand on my gun in case she was planning to go for it again but all she did was whisper in my ear: “Room 225. I’ll leave the door unlocked, my darling.” She brushed my earlobe with her lips, then Darla and I watched her walk back inside.
“What was that all about?”
“She reminds me of somebody I think I used to know.”
“Oh, Danny, you’re starting to remember?”
“I think so. A little.”
“That’s great.”
“Where’s Bud and everybody?”
“Discussing ‘important business.’ They told Violet and me to get lost. The crummy bastards.”
The sounds of Sally Layne and her band floated out onto the terrace. We looked back into the Moonlight Room, could see Sally Layne dramatically lit up in the dark, covered in the cold fire of her gown.
“That should be me,” Darla said softly.
“You miss singing?”
She nodded. She looked at me. “Wanna go down to the lake?”
We were the only ones on the little road. The pines crowded in close as the lights of Birkenhead Manor disappeared behind us. All we could hear was the wind in the tops of the trees and our shoes on the pavement.
“’Member that bear in the lobby?” said Darla.
“Yeah.”
“Think there’s any more like him out here?”
“I doubt it. I think the pioneers killed all the bears and the Indians and so on.”
“It’s still pretty scary though.”
“Wanna go back?”
“No.” And then her hand found mine.
“Danny?”
“Yeah?”
“I hear the guys talking about you sometimes. I hate to say it, but—it’s like they’re making fun of you. It’s like they don’t respect you.”
“What do they say?”
“They make jokes about you being stupid. ’Cause you can’t remember stuff. Which shows you how stupid
they
are. And they got this name for you.”
She hesitated.
“What?”
“Limpy. Two Gun Limpy Landon.”
“Dick? He calls me that?”
“No, not Dick. I think he really cares about you.”
“And Bud? What does he say about me?”
“It’s funny with Bud. I can tell he really likes you. But he never wants to talk about you. Except to make sure you haven’t been getting fresh with me.”
“How come you’re telling me this?”
“I just think you should know who your friends are. That’s all.”
It seemed like there were about ten times as many stars up here in the mountains as down in the city, and they shined above us between the pines like a parallel heavenly road. I started thinking as we kept walking and didn’t find the lake that maybe we’d taken the wrong road and we were lost like Tom and Becky and I would have to save her from Injun Joe; then we came out on the lake.
We could see the lights of hotels and cabins on the dark shores, and from the south, where the little village was, we could hear faintly voices, music, laughter. The wind moved on the lake and turned the reflected moon into wiggling quicksilver. The wind was chilly, and Darla shivered; I took my coat off and draped it over her shoulders.
We walked a bit. We saw the lights of a boat out on the lake, then heard the low growl of its engine. I wondered if we were anywhere near where they found Doc Travis’s head.
“Does it ever seem strange to you?” said Darla. “Just being alive? Why is there anything here anyway? The lake. The stars. You and me. The world would make a lot more sense if it just didn’t exist.”
“I love you,” I said.
“Oh Danny. No you don’t.”
“Yes I do.”
Silence from Darla.
“Don’t you like me a little? Sometimes I think you do.”
“Sure I do. I like you a lot. That’s why I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m not gonna get hurt.”
She stopped walking and we faced each other.
“Listen, Danny. Take my word for it. You
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