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SIMON is amazed by what he doesnt care about. Hes bought nothing but a couple of new shirts and a few books. Hes thought of no new projects. He reads Progressive Architecture and critiques what he sees there in a mood of amiable colleagueship. Hed done a building in 1981 that had pleased him, a Cath?olic chur a not-good area emple Uy, where the liquor stave you your bottle by request over a formidable ter, no browsing iacks. The parish was so poor that hed cut his fee to almost nothing; the other partners were not happy about it but had aodated him. The church was a bare-boeel building with is of glass block as its only de?sign flourish, these however stacked eightee high in twelve bays oher side of the sanctuary -- the glass block was the light-giving element, aed thiev?ery, too. It had been popular in the 30s, sidered a design cliche in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, and pre?seself again in the 80s, fresh as new dung. Some?thing to be said for being fifty-three, you could enjoy the turning of the wheel. He feels every additional day a great boon. He doesnt uand people who have futures, palpable futures. He takes an i in the obituary pages of the neers, the summations, tidy packages, So-and-so gets three inches whereas Tra-la-la got seven. He has a pain where his liver is presumed to be and is vomiting rather too much. Hes paid $35,107 in Federal taxes for last year and has before him a re?quest from the IRS for an additional $41.09. These people are wonderful, he thinks, they want the last forty-one bucks and nis. Youd think with the thirty-five thou theyd say lets have a beer and fet about it.Dore is brusque upon awakening, Anne cheerful as a zinnia. Veronica frequently es to the breakfast table (hardly a table, a slab of butcher blo top of some ets with four stools around it) pale with de?spair, then is overtaken with great gusts of enthusiasm, for Lohengrin or oyster mushrooms or Pierr.rudeau. Theyre so lovely that his head whips around when one of them ehe room, exactly in the way oices a strange woman in a crowd and t avoid, t phys?ically avoid, loud and eous staring. My senses are being systematically dérégled, he thinks, five me, Rimbaud. Dore is relatively tall, A so tall (but they are all tall), Veronica again the middle term. Breasts waver and dip and sway from side to side u-shirts with messages so much of the moment that Simo uand a tenth of them: ALLY SHEEDY LIVES! Who is Ally Sheedy? In what sense does she live, and why is the fact worthy of ent? They know, he doesnt. Simon has actually met Pierre Tru?deau (at a three-day city-planning feren Ot?tawa) and found him a charming and thoughtful man. This earns him about a crayons worth of credit with his guests.
He attempts generalizations. Dore is crusty, Veron?ica is volatile, Anne is a worrier. The generalizations are banal but f, like others hes been faithful to over many years, architecture is frozen musid art is a source of life.
In the middle of the night he senses someoand?ing over his bed.
"Whos that?"
"Its me. Dore."
He switches on the bedside lamp.
"Whats up?"
"Do you have any money?"
"You mean cash? In the house?"
"I need a couple of hundred."
&quht now?"
Shes wearing a white lace peignoir with long filigree sleeves.
&quht now. Two hundred, if you have it."
"Let me look."
Simos out of bed and opens a book, On Adams House in Paradise. He takes out a stack of bills and ts out two hundred i<samp></samp>ies.
"Its my bad brother," Dore says. "Hes downstairs. He always arrives without warning. One of his endear?ing traits. Thanks. Ill pay you back."
She gives him a quick kiss and starts to leave, then pauses.
"Whats your wifes name, Simon?"
"Whats my wifes name?"
"You dont have to tell me."
"Carol."
"Pretty name."
They say, repeatedly:
"See what Im saying?"
"See what Im saying?"
"See what Im saying?"
A: In the dream, my father laying the piano, a Beethoven something, in a large cert hall which was filled with people. I was in the audiend I was reading a book. I suddenly realized that this was the wrong thing to do when my father er?f, so I sat up and paid attention. He laying very well, I thought. Suddenly the ductor stopped the performand began to sing a passage for my fa?ther, a passage that my father had evidently botched. My father listetentively, smiling at the duc?tor.
Q: Does your father play? In actuality?
A: Not a note.
Q: Did the ductor resemble anyone you know?
A: No.
Q: What did you do, after work, in the evenings or on weekends, in Philadelphia?
A: Just ordinary things.
Q: No special is?
A: I was very ied in bow-hunting. These new bows they have now, what they call a pound bow -- Also, Im a member of the Galapagos Society, we work for the enviro, its really a very effective --
Q: And what else?
A: Well, adultery. I would say thats how I spent most of my free time. In adultery.
Q: You mean regular adultery.
A: Yes. Sleeping with people although legally bound to someone else.
Q: These were women.
A: Invariably.
Q: And so thats what you did, in the evenings or on weekends. . .
A: I had this strange experieoday is Saturday, right? I called up this haircutter I go to, her name is Ruth, and asked her for an appoi. I needed a haircut. So she said she had openings at tehirty, eleven, eleven-thirty, twelve, twelve-thirty -- on a Satur?day. Do you think the world knows something I dont know?
Q: Its possible.
A: What if she stabs me in the ear with the scissors?
Q: Unlikely, I would think.
A: Stabs me in the ear with the scissors in an excess e?
Q: Yuilt. I reize it. Clearly, guilt.
A: Nonsehe prudent man guards his eardrums. The prudent man avoids anomalous circumstances.
Q: Yard yourself as prudent.
A: I regard myself as asleep. I go along, things hap?pen to me, there are disturbances, one copes, thinking of the golden pillow, I dont mean literally golden but golden in my esteem --
Q: Let me play this track here for you, its by Echo and the Bunnymen --
A: Ill pass.
Q: I also have a video of the Tet offeh Wa?er kite. . .
"HES not potent more than forty-two per?t of the time."
"Maybe we could feed him nourishing broths."
"They say that vitamin E is good for that."
"Thats what I hear too."
"What if we give him too mu<bdi>藏书网</bdi>ch vitamin E and it poisons him?"
"I dont think you give somebody too much of any particular vitamin. The body takes what it needs as the rest I read about it."
"Its because hes so old."
"I dont think so I read about this guy who was hree and still was fathering children when he was hree."
"Perhaps at long intervals after he had been carefully fed with vitamin E and nourishing broths."
"Maybe we should offer stimulating photographs."
"Of what?"
"Potentially arousing ses."
"You mean the photographs would be more arousing than we are?"
"Well I dont know how their minds work."
"Maybe we should offer him potentially arousing ses that are not photographs."
"You mean like real life."
"Thats what I mean."
"sisting of what?"
"I dont know Id have to look in some books."
"Hes doing the best he ."
"Thats your opinion."
"I think he works quite hard at it, spends hours and hours."
"I just think weve gotten ourselves into a funda?mentally false position here, I dont blame the poor bastard its just more than the male meism is equipped to do."
"I saw this guy in a movie once I couldnt believe it."
"They have these special guys they use for those movies theyre not what you usually run into. Theyre specialists."
"We dont want to stress him beyond his capacity or have him go mad or something."
"He shows no signs of going mad."
"Hes raveling his clothes. Plug at threads."
"I just think that means he doesnt have very good clothes. His clothes have a lot of loose ends and its nat?ural, I think, when you see a loose end to pluck at it."
"I use Lubriderm on him sometimes, that helps."
"Ive noticed youve been buying a lot of Lubri?derm."
"I share it what are you getting so het up about?"
"I havent heard that expression since I was a child. Het up."
"Well were mature women we should be able to cope with this."
"Has he made a will?"
"Thats an evil thought, has he anything to will?"
"Beats me I wouldnt take it if he did."
"Sure you would."
"He could be more tan his red color is from drinking Ill bet a nickel."
"Not a perfect deal hes an animate wreck."
"Well Ill tell you Ive never had that many asms with anybody else to give the devil his due."
"Well if you want simple frottage."
"He does appreciate what hes given."
"As well he should hes in hog heaven, objectively speaking."
"Where are we?"
"Were in some sort of waiting room. Waiting."
"How old is he actually?"
"He says hes fifty-three."
ONCE when he had e home with Carol early from a cert a police car arked outside the house, so they hurried. Inside on the couch with the babysitter there was a half-naked poli. He had retained his uniform trousers. His gu was on the coffee table and the babysitters blouse on the coffee table, a bottle of Dewars there as well, "This is Rob," the babysitter said, and they said, "Hi, Rob." What breasts, Simon thought. He went into the kit and mixed himself a Gelusil and Carol went searg for a faraway closet to hang her black-beaded jacket in.
Rob removed himself into the felon-thiight, Carol gave the babysitter twelve dollars, and Simon looked in on the sleep<bdi>99ｌｉｂ.</bdi>ing Sarah. She had kicked the covers off and he replaced them. "Do you think he was on duty?" Carol asked, re-doing the covers.
"Yes," Simon said. "Did you say anything to her?"
"I didnt think it was necessary. She was blushing all over. Never seen a stomach blush like that."
"Did he leave the bottle?"
"No, took it."
"I think Ill call the chief. Fill him in on this matter."
"Oh, e on."
"What is she, fifteen?"
"Fully fifteen."
"A ripe fifteen."
"I saw." She led the way to the kit. "I guess thats Sarah eleven years from now."
"Oh misery me."
"You want to jump the babysitter."
"Where does this word jump e from?"
"I know you."
"I dont think Ive ever said that to anybody. I know you. "
"Youre too ed up in your own stuff even to try. To know someone."
"The phrase is a bit total. As in, I totaled the Buick. "
"You worry about the way I say things but you dont worry about what I mean."
"Thats not so. Anyhow, I dont want to screw the babysitter."
"You would if you could."
"Maybe in a state of nature. Philadelphia is not a state of nature."
"Youre dumb. Youre just dumb, Simon."
"I didnt hire the babysitter."
"She was highly reended."
"Had this guy today tell me he was the feion of his family to lose money itle busi?ness. A t. What he was really saying was that he was cattle aristocrad he made enough from his oil leases so that he could run two thousand head of cattle as a hobby. Thats known as self-depreg humor."
"Youre ging the subject."
"It needs ging."
In bed, he was almost asleep. She came in and threw four quarts of icewater at him.
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