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Her hatred for Earl and E now as it had been when they were alive, for it was their influence that s to Tony She wondered what she would have to do to break the chains that they had put on her
For a while, she and Tony lay in bed, holding each other, saying nothing because nothing needed to be said
Ten , she said, "I should be getting ho more?"
"God, no! I’m wiped out I just want to hold you Sleep here" he said
"If I stay, on’t sleep"
"Are you capable of doing ot things to do tomorrow, and so have you And we’re et any rest so long as we’re sharing a bed We’ll keep touching like this, talking like this, resisting sleep like this"
"Well," he said, "we’ve got to learn to spend the night together Ia lot of them in the same bed, don’t you think?"
"Many, ht’s the worst We’ll adjust when the novelty wears off
I’ll start wearing curlers and cold crea Johnny Carson"
"Such a shame," she said
"Of course, it’ll take a bit of tireed
"Like fifty years"
"Or sixty"
They delayed her leaving for another fifteen ot up and dresssed Tony pulled on a pair of jeans In the living room, as they walked toward the door, she stopped and stared at one of his paintings and said, "I want to take six of your best pieces to Wyant Stevens in Beverly Hills and see if he’ll handle you"
"He won’t"
"I want to try"
"That’s one of the best galleries"
"Why start at the botto someone else At last, he said, "Maybe I should jump"
"Jump?"
He told her about the iene Tucker, the black ex-convict as now designing dresses
"Tucker is right," she said "And this isn’t even a ju your job with the police depart the waters"
Tony shrugged "Wyant Stevens will turnhim the chance to do it"
"He won’t turn you down," she said "Pick out half a dozen paintings you feel are et us an appointment with Wyant either later today or toht now," he said "Take theet a chance to see Stevens, show them to him"
"But I’m sure he’ll want to meet you"
"If he likes what he sees, then he’ll want to o see him"
"Tony, really--"
"I just don’t want to be there when he tells you it’s good work but only that of a gifted amateur"
"You’re impossible"
"Cautious"
"Such a pessimist"
"Realist"
She didn’t have time to look at all of the sixty canvases that were stacked in the living room
She was surprised to learn that he had more than fifty others stored in closets, as well as a hundred pen and ink drawings, nearly as many watercolors, and countless preliminary pencil sketches She wanted to see all of them, but only when she ell-rested and fully able to enjoy the roos, they carefully wrapped theths of an old sheet, which Tony tore apart for that purpose
He put on a shirt and shoes, helped her carry the bundles to her car, where they stashed them in the trunk
She closed and locked the trunk, and they looked at each other, neither of thee of a pool of light cast by a twenty-foot-high sodiuht was chilly and silent There were stars
"It’ll be dawn before long," he said
"Want to sing ’Two Sleepy People’ with er," he said
"I doubt it" She leaned against hi fro you do"
"Bawdy"
"I try to be"
They kissed again, and then he opened the driver’s door for her
"You’re not going to work today?" she asked
"No Not afterFrank I have to go in and write up a report, but that’ll take only an hour or so I’ to me"
"I’ll call you this afternoon"
"I’ll be waiting," he said
She drove away froone a few blocks, her stoer, and she res for breakfast at ho after the one, but then she’d heard from Michael Savatino and had rushed to Tony’s place She turned left at the next corner and went to an all-night ured Hilary wouldn’t need any et home on the deserted streets, but he waited fifteen minutes before he called to find out if she had ot was a series of coe of smart machines--then a few clicks and snaps and pops, then the hollow ghostly hissing of acareful to get every digit right, but again the phone would not ring
He was certain that the new unlisted nuiven it to hiht And she read it off a carbon copy of the telephone company work order, which she had in her purse, so there wasn’t any chance she was mistaken about it