Page 25 (1/1)

Her establishment has the sa the left ith a stuffed mar-lin arched above it that I suspect was never really alive A big color TV sits on the far end of the bar, sound off, i about like transmissions from another planet where life is vibrant and lunatic The place always srease that should have been thrown out last week There are six or seven tables in the center of the room surrounded by chrome-and-plastic chairs out of soht wall have been fashioned out of plywood and stained the color of walnut, coestions carved in by ruffians who apparently had had a go at the ladies’ roolish well enough to divine the true ans It’s also possible that they express her sentilanced over at her and discovered that she was sitting bolt upright and very still, squinting narrowly at the front door I followed her gaze Henry had just come in with his new lady friend, Lila Saone up auto Henry found a table that seemed reasonably clean and pulled out a chair Lila sat down and settled her big plastic bag on her lap like a sht cotton dress in a snazzy print, bold red poppies on a ground of blue, and her hair looked as if it had been poufed at the beauty parlor that very afternoon Henry sat down, glancing back at the booth, where he knows I usually sit I gave a little finger wave and he waved back Lila’s head swiveled in ht

Rosie,paper aside and had left her stool, gliding through the bar like a shark I could only surmise that she and Lila had ht be al as Godzilla Meets Bae point, of course, the whole encounter took place in pantomime

Rosie had her order pad out She stood and stared at Henry, behaving as though he were alone, which is exactly how she treats me when I coers She doesn’t make eye contact with anyone she hasn’t known for some time This is especially true when the "anyones" are women Lila was all aflutter Henry conferred with her and ordered for theathered that Lila had ourarian cuisine Maybe Lila wanted the peppers left out or so roasted instead of fried Lila looked like the sort of woman who’d have lots of dietary taboos Rosie only had the one You ate it the way she served it or you went somewhere else Lila apparently couldn’t believe that she couldn’t be catered to Shrill and quarrelsome noises arose, all Lila’s Rosie didn’t say a word It was her place She could do anything she wanted to The twoabout politics turned to watch the show The couple eating the sonkas palacsinta paused simultaneously, forks in ht for a minute she meant to hit Rosie with her purse Instead, she delivered what looked like a scathing re after her Rosie re secretly as cats do in the midst of ot very quiet, tending studiously to our own private thoughts lest Rosie turn on us inexplicably and eighty-six us for life

Twenty minutes passed before Rosie found an excuse to headlass on the table and then folded her hands in front of her, wiggling slightly in place She does this when she wants your attention or feels you haven’t lauded her with quite enough praise for some culinary accomplishment

"Looks like you took care of her," I rear woman Terrible creature She was in once before and I don’t like her a bit Henry must be crazy nuts to coed "Listen, all I know is her na a room froonna s funny with her eyes" Rosie screwed her face up and did an ienerally a humorless person and I had no idea her powers of observation were so keen, let alone her ability to ether "What’s she ith him anyway?"