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"I don’t mind"

"It shouldn’t be your responsibility I’oing to be nicer I got out the skillet and tried a new subject "We never talked about money Lee didn’t mention your hourly rate"

"Let’s not worry about that We’ll work soreement"

"What for?"

I shrugged "I don’t know," I said "It’s just e you I’ this for fun"

I turned and stared at him "You think this is fun?"

"You knohat I mean I’ve chucked the business anyway so this one’s on me"

"I don’t like that," I said "I know you mean well, and believe me, I appreciate the help, but I don’t like to feel indebted"

"There’s no debt i to pay you," I said, testily

"Great You do that My rates just went up Five hundred bucks an hour"

I stared at him and he stared back "That’s bullshit"

"That’s ht now I’"

I turned back to the skillet with a shake of et to have your oay

I went up to bed at nine, exhausted I slept fitfully, aware that Dietz was up and prowling restlessly well into the night

11

I woke automatically at 6:00 a run Oh, , shit, hurt I was sucking air throughat the floor when I rehts He hadn’t said a word about getting out of bed I was clearly in no condition to work out anyway The second day of anything is always the worst I staggered todown at the living rooht the s at the kitchen counter with the LA Ti he could have his first cigarette of the day From my perspective, foreshortened, his face see chin, his body topheavy with bulky shoulders and biceps He reversed the pages, flipping to the middle of the eles criht, clih the skylight A las dome hite Impossible to tell yet what kind of day it would be It seldom rains here in May Chances were the clouds would lift and we’d have sunshine, reen Sometimes perfection ain’t that easy to bear Meanwhile, I couldn’t lie here all day, though I was tempted, I confess

If I went downstairs, I’d have to be polite and interact with Dietz,small talk of so, even when they’re short-term People have to trade all those tedious details about their previous lives It e We’d touched on the preli home, but we had reaht turn on the radio again… more Roy Orbison I couldn’t face that at 6:05 ary, so why shouldn’t I go downstairs and eat? I didn’t have to talk to hiot up, limped into the bathroom and brushed my teeth My face was still a Technicolor wonder, a rainbow of bruises after a shower of blows I wiggled my eyebrows and studiedsubtly fro froreen I’ve seen eye shadow in the same shade and it always puzzles ot belted in the chops last night," is what it says My hair was, as usual, ht before but I hopped in again, not for the sake of cleanliness, but hoping to i my skin itch

Once I pulled on jeans and an old sweatshirt, I dumped my dirty clothes in the hamper, tucked the empty duffel in the closet, andwithout lifting his eyes froe I helped rabbed the funnies, and toted it all into the living roo cereal into e The funnies never ht up with Rex Morgan, MD, the girls in Apart holy life moves in a comic strip I hadn’t read the paper instartled at so she was I could tell he was disconcerted by the wavy lines around his head