@@@@@In books and movies, anywayMaybe sometimes 291
@@@@@In books
and movies, anywayMaybe sometimes in real life,
tooJust because it sounded like a self-serving
lie didn't mean it was
"The girl he sings with?"
Ilse nodded
"She of the bad breath
"I seem to remember you telling me not too long
ago that he'd have to make a choiceThen: "It's complicatedAsk any drunk in a bar who's been
thrown out by his wife
"He told her he doesn't want to see her anymore
And the duets are offI know that for a fact,
because I checked some of the latest reviews on
the Internet She colored faintly at this,
although I didn't blame her for checkingI would
767
have checked, tooFredericks - he's the
tour director - threatened to send him home,
Carson told him he could if he wanted to, but he
wasn't singing with that holy blond bitch
anymore
"Were those his exact words?"
She smiled brilliantly"He's a Baptist, Daddy,
I'm interpretingAnyway, Carson stood his ground
and MrFor me, that's a mark
in his favor
Yes, I thought, but he's still a cheater who calls
himself Smiley"What's your next move?"
She sighedThe ponytail made her look eleven; the
sigh made her sound forty
"Then let me help youWill you do that?"
"All right
"For the time being, stay away from him," I said,
and I discovered I wanted that with all my heartWhen I thought of the Girl and
Ship paintings - especially the girl in the
rowboat - I wanted to tell her not to talk to
strangers, keep her hairdryer away from the
768
bathtub, and jog only at the college tr
