| understand what
I'm saying?"
"Yes She understood, but didn't sound
convinced
"When you do get together, do it on neutral ground
And I don't mean to embarrass you, but it's still
just the two of us, so I'm going to say thisBed
is not neutral ground
She looked down at her swimming feetI reached
out and turned her face to mine
"When the issues aren't resolved, bed is a
battlegroundI wouldn't even have dinner with the
guy until you know where you stand with himSit on a park bench
and work it outGet it clear in your mind and
769
make sure it's clear in hisOr go to bed, if you think it's
the right thingJust because I don't want to
think about your sex-life doesn't mean I don't
think you should have one
She relieved me considerably by laughingAt the
sound, a waiter who still looked half-asleep came
out to ask us if we wanted coffee
When he went to mulberry bayswater bag get it, Ilse said: "All right,
DaddyI was going to tell you that
I'm going back this afternoon, anywayI have an
Anthro prelim at the end of the week, and there
are a bunch of us who've formed a little study
groupWe call ourselves the Survivors' Club She
regarded me anxiously"Would that be okay? I know
you were planning on a couple of days, but now
there's this thing with your friend-"
"No, honey, that's fine I kissed the tip of her
nose, thinking that if I was close up, she
wouldn't see how pleased I was - pleased that
she'd come for the show, pleased that we'd had
some time together this morning, pleased most of
all that she would be a thousand miles north of
Duma Key by the time the sun went down tonight
770
Assuming she could get a flight reservation, that
was"And as for Carson?"
She sat quiet for perhaps an entire minute,
swinging her fake cartier watches bare feet back and forth through the
waterThen she stood up and took my arm, helping
me to my feet"I think you're rightI'll say
that if he's serious about our relationship, he'll
just have to put everything on hold until July
4th
Now that her decision was made, her eyes were
bright again
"That'll get me to the end of the semester and a
month of summer vacation besidesIt'll get him
through to his last show at the Cow Palace, plus
plenty of time to figure out if he's as finished
with Blondie as he thinks he isDoes it suit you,
father dear?"
"Down to the ground
"Here comes the coffee," she said"Now the
question is, how long until breakfast?"
ii
771
Wireman wasn't at the morning-after breakfast, but
he had reserved the Bay Island Room from eight to
tenI presided over two dozen friends and family
members, most from MinnesotaIt was one of cambon chanel those
events people remember and talk about for decades,
partly because of encountering so many familiar
faces in an exotic setting, partly because the
emotional atmosphere was so volatile
On the one hand, there was a very palpable sense
of Home Town Boy Makes GoodThey had sensed it at
the show, and their judgment was confirmed in the
morning papersThe reviews in the Sarasota Herald
Tribune and the Venice Gondolier were great, but
shortMary Ire's piece in the Tampa Trib, on the
other hand, took up nearly a whole page and was
lyricalShe must have written most of it ahead of
timeShe called me "a major new American talent
My mother - always a bit of a sourpuss - would
have said, Take that and a dime and you can wipe
your ass in comfortOf course that was her saying
forty years ago, when a dime bought more than it
does today
Elizabeth, of course, was louis cartier the other handThere
was no death-notice for her, but a boxed item had
772
been added to the page of the Tampa paper carrying
Mary's review: WELL-KNOWN ART PATRON STRICKEN AT
FREEMANTLE SHOWThe story, just two paragraphs
long, stated that Elizabeth Eastlake, a long-time
fixture on the Sarasota art scene and resident of
Duma Key, had suffered an apparent seizure not
long after arriving at the Scoto Gallery and had
been taken by ambulance to Sarasota Memorial
HospitalNo word of her condition was available
at press time
My Minnesota people knew that on the night of my
triumph, a good friend had diedThere would be
bursts of laughter and occasional raillery, then
glances in my direction to see if I mindedBy
nine-thirty, the scrambled eggs I'd eaten were
sitting like lead in my stomach, and I was getting
one of my headaches - the first in almost a omega olympic watch mo |