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Train by train, , and yet I continued to wait, to hope I was hanging by ain I tried her cell, with the same result This is Elizabeth Lear I’m not available to take your call The clocks’ handsIt was nine, then ten I had waited five hours What a fool I’d been

I left the station and began to walk The air was cruel; the city see, soloves, preferring to feel the pain of the wind Sometime later I looked up to find I was on Broadway, near the Flatiron I realized I had left o back and retrieve it--surely somebody would have turned it in--but the flauished itself A suitcase--who cared? Of course there was the morphine to consider Perhaps whoever found it would enjoy theical step I entered the first restaurant I ca--sleek and upscale, full of chroh it was after ht I took a place at the bar, ordered a Scotch, finished it before the bartender had returned the bottle to the rack, and requested a refill

"Excuse , aren’t you?"

I turned to the wo, a little heavy but quite striking, Indian or Middle Eastern, with raven-black hair, full cheeks, and a bow-shaped enerically sexy black skirt she wore a fil with fruit in it sat on the bar in front of her, its rim stained with crescents of rust-colored lipstick

"I’uess you don’t rey 100? Spring 2002?"

"You were ave me a C minus"

"Oh Sorry about that"

"Trust me, no offense taken The human race has a lot to thank you for, actually Many people are alive today because I didn’t go towomen like her ca to see soht o’clock in thea laptop, as to find theht of adventure

"So, where did you end up?" A dull re to say, since conversation was now inevitable

"Publishing, where else?" She leveled her gaze atirls did"

I realized she was drunk,me her name

"Miss--?"

She moved to the stool next to mine and extended her hand Her nails were perfectly manicured, painted to ht for me, Nicole"

"I could sort of tell, the way you put away that Scotch" She touched her hair for no reason "What do you say, Professor? Buy a girl a drink? It’s your chance toherself, a wolanced past her; just a handful of other people were in the rooh "Like, did my date step out for a smoke?"

I felt suddenly flustered; I hadn’t irl like you I just assuers she picked a cherry frolass and raised it slowly to her lips Her eyes locked ontoit there for a half second before popping the ste the redI’d ever seen

"Don’t you know, Professor? Tonight I’m all yours"

--

We were in a taxi I was very drunk The cab was bouncing through narrow streets and ere kissing like teenagers, drinking each other’s ulps I appeared to have lost all volition; things were si I wanted, I didn’t knohat One of my hands had found its way up her skirt, lost in a fe her buttocks toward ether She unlatched my trousers and eased lanced back, said nothing Up and down she went, ers entwined in the lush , I could hardly breathe