Page 76 (1/2)

It took us thirty minutes to travel froe, a trip that should have taken less than ten Josie was increasingly annoyed by the delay I added to it by dialing up KBEM-FM on the radio, which played "thatfor Kevin O’Connor, and she liked playing local jazz talent I was able to hear Debbie Duncan, Hall Brothers, Doug Haining Quintet, Christine Rosholt, Fantastic Merlins, Mouldy Figs, and Connie Evingson--perhaps o Reinhardt on "You and the Night and the Music"--one right after another While I listened, I thought about what Shelby had said and wondered if she was right

Commitment issues? How can I have commitment issues? I had proposed three times--on bended knee, no less--and not once did I hope the lady would say no; actually felt a jolt of pain when she didn’t say yes Not to mention, a lot of women have slid in and out of my life in the past four years, and I’ve kept the next to ht? Besides, so what if eren’t married? A lot of people commit to each other for a lifetie ’Course, they actually live together and Nina and I don’t, but that’s e daughter, Erica, who isn’t actually a teenager anyrad at Tulane University Still, we have spentweekend at each other’s homes I have plenty of stuff at her place and she has a lot of personal ite a slinky black number that she has never worn for more than a few minutes at a time in my presence That says commitment, too, doesn’t it? Well, doesn’t it?

Just this side of Harris, we lost KBEM’s signal Josie switched off the radio "Finally," she said "How can you listen to that stuff?"

"Jazz, ht?"

"It is a music in which it’s i Wynton Marsalis once said it’s ‘an art form that cannot be limited by enforced trends or bad taste’"

"Who’s he?"

"Never mind"

"The woman back there at the park, does she listen to jazz?"

"I have no idea"

"Have you slept with her?"

"What? No"

"Why not? The way she fills out that dress…"

"Ahh, geez…"

"Don’t you want to sleep with her?"

"Of course I do"

What are you saying? my inner voice shouted Talk about your Freudian slips

It’s not a Freudian slip, I toldto be someone else, remember? Of course Dyson would want to sleep with Shelby That doesn’t mean McKenzie would

"Then why haven’t you slept with her?" Josie asked

"Let’s just say the opportunity never presented itself; let it go at that"