Page 17 (1/2)

Thirty-two

Catfish and Estelle

"That was a good guitar," Catfish said He had his arms around Estelle, who had pressed her face to his chest when the monster attacked Winston Krauss

"I didn’t realize," Estelle said "I didn’t think it would do that"

Catfish stroked her hair "That was a good car too That car never broke"

Estelle pushed Catfish away and looked in his eyes "You knew, didn’t you?"

"What I knew is that boy wanted to get up close to a sea ot Case you didn’t notice, he was happy when it happened"

"What now?"

"I think we ought to get you hoonna co with uess I a to stay? You’re not afraid of losing the Blues and getting content?"

Catfish grinned, and there was that gold tooth with the eighth note cut in it, glistening in the uitar,tis while you s"

"I’d like that," Estelle said "I’d like to paint the Blues"

"Long as you don’t go cuttin your ear off like old Vincent A man finds a one-eared woht "I’ll do my best"

"Course, there was a wo Called her One Leg Sally"

"I don’t want to hear it"

"What you wanna hear?"

"I want to hear the door closing behind us, the fire crackling in the stove, and the teakettle just co to a whistle while my lovin man picks out ’Walkin’ Man’s Blues’ on a National steel guitar"

"You easy," Catfish said

"I thought you liked that," she said, and she took his spidery hand in hers and led him up over the bluff to find a ride home

Theo and Molly

Theo had never felt quite so overwhelmed in his entire life He sensed that the exciteer of it all was over, but he still felt as if a beast every bit as inti as the one that had just sunk into the sea was loo over him He didn’t know if he had a job, or for that matter a home, since his cabin had been part of his pay He didn’t even have his bong collection and victory garden to crawl into He was confused and horrified by what had just happened, but not relieved that it was over He stood there, not ten feet fro in the surf, and he had no idea what the rest of his life had to offer him

"Hey," he called "You okay?"

He watched her nod without turning around The waves were breaking in front of her and foahs, yet she stood there solid, staring out to sea

"You going to be okay?"

Without turning, she said, "I haven’t been okay for years Ask anybody"

"Matter of opinion I think you’re okay"

Now she looked over her shoulder at hile from the wind, tear tracks down her face "Really?"

"I’e fan"

"You had never heard of my movies until you cah"

She turned and walked out of the surf toward hi there on her face A smile with too much history to it, but a sood," she said

"The narrator?" Theo found hi as he had co nonetheless

"Yeah, it’s this voice I hear when I don’t take ot a better sense of judght there in front of hie in thatmore like Kendra the Warrior Babe than she ever had in the posters, the five-inch-long scar standing glorious over her left breast, seawater and gri her body, a look in her eyes that coet nuked - repeatedly She took his breath away

"Do you think the three of us could go out to dinner sometime?"

"I’m on the rebound, you know?"

His heart sank "I understand"

She walked around hi for the first ti the Sea Beast to the cave

"I didn’t say no," Molly said "I just thought you ought to know The narrator is warning me not to talk about my ex over dinner"

His heart soared "I think a lot of people are going to be talking about your ex"

"You’re not intimidated?"

"Of course But not by him"