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When he left Elaine closed the door after hi this," she said, "but I've been doing it anyway"

"There are people all over toith half a dozen locks on every door, and alar else And they don't have somebody who's threatened to kill the to know that," she said "He's a nice kid, Ray I wonder if he'll stay a cop"

"Hard to say"

"Was there ever anything else you wanted to be? Besides a cop?"

"I never even wanted to be a cop It was so I drifted into, and before I was out of the Academy I realized it hat I'd been born for But I never knew that early on When I was a kid I wanted to be Joe DiMaggio when I grew up, but that's what every kid wanted, and I never had the o with the desire"

"You could have married Marilyn Monroe"

"And sold coffee race of God"

She carried our e behind her She rinsed theetting stir-crazy," she said "What are you doing tonight? Do you have anyplace you have to be?"

I looked at ht-thirty step , but it was too late now, they'd already started And I had caught a noondon already that day I told her I didn't have anything planned

"Well, how about a movie? How does that sound?"

It sounded fine We walked over to Sixtieth and Third to a first-run house It was the weekend so there was a line, but there was a pretty decent film at the end of it, a slick caper movie with Kevin Costner and Michelle Pfeiffer "She's not really pretty," Elaine said afterward, "but there's so about her, isn't there? If I were a man, I'd want to fuck her"

"Repeatedly," I said

"Oh, she does it for you, huh?"

"She's all right"

" 'Repeatedly,' " she said, and chuckled Around us, Third Avenue was thronged with young people who looked as though the country were every bit as prosperous as the Republicans kept telling us it was "I'et a bite? My treat"

"Sure, but why is it your treat?"

"You paid for the hborhood, wherever we go we're going to be up to our tits in yuppies"

"There's a place in e fries Oh, wait a ood there, but I forget if you said you eat fish"

"Not anyood salad, but is that enough for you?"

She said it would be plenty, especially if she stole a few of e fries There were no e to hail one We started to walk, then caught a bus on Fifty-seventh Street and got off at Ninth Avenue The place I had in mind, Paris Green, was five blocks don The bartender, a lanky felloith a brown beard that hung down like an oriole's nest, gave a wave as we cleared the threshold His nao when I'd been hired to find a girl who'd done soer, whose name was Bryce, had been a little less helpful then, but he was helpful enough now, greeting us with a sood table A waitress with a short skirt and long legs came over to take our drink order, went away, and cain Mary for Elaine I irl's departure, because Elaine tapped lass with hers and advised ," I said

"I'irl returned Elaine ordered the large garden salad I had what I generally have there, a Jarlsberg cheeseburger and well-done fries When the food ca echoes of Tuesday night, when I'd had a late bite at Ar's with Toni The two restaurants weren't that much alike, and neither were the woha cheeseburger She looked at h I were crazy and asked why it should bother her

"I don't know," I said "You don't eatmeat is just a choice I make, that's all My doctor didn't order le with"

"And you don't have to go to the s?"

"Carnivores Anonyhed Then her eyes narrowed and she looked appraisingly at ht that was probably how you did it Matt, would it have bothered you if I'd ordered a drink?"

"You did"

"Right, a Virgin Mary Would it have-"

"You knohat the British call it? Instead of a Virgin Mary?"

"A Bloody Shaht No, it wouldn't have bothered me if you'd ordered a real drink You can order one now if you want"

"I don't"

"Is that why you ordered a Virgin Mary? Because you thought it ht bother me otherwise?"

"It didn't even occur to me, as a matter of fact I hardly ever drink alcohol these days I hardly ever did The only reason I asked was because you asked about the cheeseburger, and while we've been discussing e fries"

"While e to get you some of your own"