第33部分(第3/7 页)

en　at

Stovington　and　Danny　was　still　a　crib…infant。　Where　are　you　going；　Jack？　When

will　you　be　back？　How　much　money　do　you　have　with　you？　Are　you　going　to　take　the

car？　Is　Al　going　to　be　with　you？　Will　one　of　you　stay　sober？　On　and　on。　She　had；

pardon　the　expression；　driven　him　to　drink。　Maybe　that　hadn't　been　the　only

reason；　but　by　Christ　let's　tell　the　truth　here　and　admit　it　was　one　of　them。

Nag　and　nag　and　nag　until　you　wanted　to　clout　her　one　just　to　shut　her　up　and

stop　the

（Where？　When？　How？　Are　you？　Will　you？）

endless　flow　of　questions。　It　could　give　you　a　real

（headache？　hangover？）

headache。　The　reader。　The　damned　reader　with　its　distorted　print。　That　was　why

he　had　such　a　cunt　of　a　headache。

〃Jack；　are　you　all　right？　You　look　pale　—　〃

He　snapped　his　head　away　from　her　fingers。　〃I　am　fine！〃

She　recoiled　from　his　hot　eyes　and　tried　on　a　smile　that　was　a　size　too　small。

〃Well　。。。　if　you　are　。。。　I'll　just　go　and　wait　in　the　park　with　Danny　。。。〃

She　was　starting　away　now；　her　smile　dissolving　into　a　bewildered　expression　of

hurt。

He　called　to　her：　〃Wendy？〃

She　looked　back　from　the　foot　of　the　stairs。　〃What；　Jack？〃

He　got　up　and　went　over　to　her。　〃I'm　sorry；　babe。　I　guess　I'm　really　not　all

right。　That　machine　。。。　the　lens　is　distorted。　I've　got　a　really　bad　headache。

Got　any　aspirin？〃

〃Sure。〃　She　pawed　in　her　purse　and　came　up　with　a　tin　of　Anacin。　〃You　keep

them。〃

He　took　the　tin。　〃No　Excedrin？〃　He　saw　the　small　recoil　on　her　face　and

understood。　It　had　been　a　bitter　sort　of　joke　between　them　at　first；　before　the

drinking　had　gotten　too　bad　for　jokes。　He　had　claimed　tha