Enthusiastic thick trees
I took Beatrice Lafferty to live with me in Nolans studio in the desert near Coral D. We heard no more of Nolan, and never flew the gliders again. The clouds carry too many memories. Three months ago a man who saw the derelict gliders outside the studio stopped near Coral D and walked across to us. He told us he had seen a man flying a glider in the sky high above Red Beach, carving the strato-cirrus into images of jewels and childrens faces. Once there was a dwarf's head. Sato pours a giant-size dollop of wine in each tumbler. "A phrase. It has associations ... " Understanding her, he first concentrated on sweeping the walls and ceiling clean, draining away the heavy depressing underlayer of traffic noises. Carefully he ran the long snout of the sonovac over the ancient scenic flats (relics of her previous roles at the Metropolitan Opera House) which screened-in Madame Giocondas makeshift home—the great collapsing Byzantine bed (Othello) mounted against the microphone turret; the huge framed mirrors with their peeling silverscreen (Orpheus) stacked in one corner by the bandstand; the stove (Trovatore) set up on the program director’s podium; the gilt-trimmed dressing table and wardrobe (Figaro) stuffed with newspaper and magazine cuttings. He swept them methodically, moving the sonovac’s nozzle in long strokes, drawing out the dead residues of sound that had accumulated during the day. But if you think that makes the book a collection offantasy and science fiction, Im afraid I still have to beg off—unless you choose to Include under fantasy everything that is not rigidly “realistic” —assuming you know whatthat means. I don’t. She could not get her mind back to cataloguing books. She carried a chair up the four flights of stairs and placed it in front of one of the windows, deeply recessed in the thick walls of stone. She spent the morning there reading the book and thinking about it, feeling the presence of Thomas Woods, who had put such terribly beautiful visions on paper. While reading, she was tantalized by the feeling that its meaning escaped her even while it enthralled and frightened her. It represented no Faustlike deal with Satan; yet it recognized no deity beyond that of self. What self did, it did unaided, even to creating paradise. But when she laid the book aside and let her mind drift with the river, the meaning of the words became crystal clear—until something again called her back to reality. It was here, on this diminutive plateau high above the miles of palm-fringed beach, that Gene Hartford started to unload—and my simple hopes of financial advantage started to evaporate. What his exact motives were, if indeed he knew them himself, Im still uncertain. Surprise at meeting me, and a twisted feeling of gratitude (which I would gladly have done without) undoubtedly played a part, and for all his air of confidence he must have been a bitter, lonely man who desperately needed approval and friendship. " ... Garland. Thats what youre buying if you buy my glass, and it never looks better than it does at this minute. The glass is in perfect phase, none of it is less than ten years thick— and a four-foot window will cost you two hundred pounds." "A new plastic" A great number within my experience, says Mr. Wilier, rubbing his leathery old hands together. I pushed away the remaining untouchable portions of my curry. If you know the code youll realize that these symbols can only fit one situation. But I’ll stretch a point: you may look at this warrant, but don’t touch it. He nodded with real concern. "Wouldnt turn off the rain." I also know Kit Reed: a quick— slender — tidy woman; a casual-but-good skirt-and-sweater-type New Englander. A former award-winning newspaperwoman, a recent Guggenheim fellow, the first American to receive an Abraham Woursell five-year grant. Married to a warm, witty, pipe-smoking English Professor: three small children, large house, student lodger, frequent houseguests. Take two, said the druggist, in case He moves.” Carlos nodded again and said nothing. It was never easy to know just what Swifty Zavrakos eyes were doing, with all his tics, but I had the feeling that he kept glancing at me. And I must say I wasn’t reassured—something wasn’t right, there was a misunderstanding somewhere—I felt a vague apprehension, a kind of foreboding. A living being Yes No Yes No Depends on what test you use for living. Youre using words I don’t know, said Ash. Please define: jealousy, envy, foreigner, competition, furious, suspicion and—well, begin with those.” I thought about visiting Alegra that evening. But there was the last six-months paper work, still not finished. I went into the office, plugged in the computer and got ready to work late. I nodded..
