didn’t make any sense. He was a complete stranger; she would never see him again.Linda leaned toward him, clutching the counter’s edge. She had removed her wedding band on the day of Wright’s funeral, and now she wondered if she should be wearing it, the way women used to wear borrowed or dime-store rings when they checked into quickie motels.
Behind her, Robin had paused at a magazine rack against the wall, and was standing there, turning pages.
“Do you have those pregnancy-test kits?” Linda hissed.
The pharmacist reached between them and handed her a small blue box from a prominent pile of small blue boxes. They had been right there all the time, in plain sight, under a sign that said
Family Planning Center
. And the pharmacist didn’t even seem curious. She might have asked for aspirin or Band-Aids for all he cared. His indifference gave her a rush of courage. She paid for her purchase and marched away, forgetting completely about Robin for the moment. At the doorway, she remembered and turned to see Robin buying something, too. Linda waited for her with concealed impatience.
The kid stayed in the bathroom for what seemed like hours. What was she doing in there? As soon as the door was shut, Linda had pulled the blue box from her purse and scanned the instructions. They were not complicated at all. How civilized life had become when such torturous suspense could be shortened, and when no middleman was necessary to obtain this internal information.
According to the literature, she’d have her answer in two hours. If Robin ever came out of the bathroom. Thetoilet flushed once, then again; water ran into the sink for the millionth time, and the door opened. Robin, in blue pajamas, was barefoot and pink-faced. Linda rushed past her, closed the door, and locked it.
Robin dropped her discarded clothing on the floor next to the bed that was hers for the night. If she woke first in the morning, which was her intention, she would probably have everything back on again before Linda even stirred. The tattooed place on her back was tender when she lay on it. It was probably still infected. The antibiotic capsules Ray had given her were huge, and she’d always had trouble swallowing pills. When she was little and became ill, her father would crush the baby aspirins and hide them in applesauce.
Asshole Linda had knocked on the door, asking if everything was okay, just when she almost had it down, and she had to spit it out and start all over again. Her belly was bloated with all the water she drank, trying. The capsule kept rising into her mouth no matter how far back she pushed it, no matter how fast she gulped the water. She turned both faucets on all the way so Linda wouldn’t hear her gagging. Robin had to throw two capsules down the toilet because they had become such a gelatinous mess. The third one went down her throat on the first try.
After that, she took two short tokes on one of the joints Ray had given her, and then carefully put it out. She opened the window and waved at the smoke while Linda kept banging on the door.
Now Robin pulled the covers up and lay on her side to think about her mother. Once Robin learned about the man, she had to give up all those soothing fantasiesof amnesia and kidnapping by pirates or gypsies. Gradually, since her father’s death, her mind’s image of her mother changed, too. The beauty she believed she remembered became shallow and ordinary. Yet Robin clung to an old idea that the man in the case was handsome and rich, maybe even famous. One day Robin might open a newspaper and find her mother in the act of dining at the White House or attending the Academy Awards. She could only think of Miriam in extravagant circumstances, wealthy in every respect except for peace of mind and true happiness. All the furs and jewels in the world were unable to console her in her regret. And she would be almost unrecognizable now because of the rapid and savage aging process that had
Behind her, Robin had paused at a magazine rack against the wall, and was standing there, turning pages.
“Do you have those pregnancy-test kits?” Linda hissed.
The pharmacist reached between them and handed her a small blue box from a prominent pile of small blue boxes. They had been right there all the time, in plain sight, under a sign that said
Family Planning Center
. And the pharmacist didn’t even seem curious. She might have asked for aspirin or Band-Aids for all he cared. His indifference gave her a rush of courage. She paid for her purchase and marched away, forgetting completely about Robin for the moment. At the doorway, she remembered and turned to see Robin buying something, too. Linda waited for her with concealed impatience.
The kid stayed in the bathroom for what seemed like hours. What was she doing in there? As soon as the door was shut, Linda had pulled the blue box from her purse and scanned the instructions. They were not complicated at all. How civilized life had become when such torturous suspense could be shortened, and when no middleman was necessary to obtain this internal information.
According to the literature, she’d have her answer in two hours. If Robin ever came out of the bathroom. Thetoilet flushed once, then again; water ran into the sink for the millionth time, and the door opened. Robin, in blue pajamas, was barefoot and pink-faced. Linda rushed past her, closed the door, and locked it.
Robin dropped her discarded clothing on the floor next to the bed that was hers for the night. If she woke first in the morning, which was her intention, she would probably have everything back on again before Linda even stirred. The tattooed place on her back was tender when she lay on it. It was probably still infected. The antibiotic capsules Ray had given her were huge, and she’d always had trouble swallowing pills. When she was little and became ill, her father would crush the baby aspirins and hide them in applesauce.
Asshole Linda had knocked on the door, asking if everything was okay, just when she almost had it down, and she had to spit it out and start all over again. Her belly was bloated with all the water she drank, trying. The capsule kept rising into her mouth no matter how far back she pushed it, no matter how fast she gulped the water. She turned both faucets on all the way so Linda wouldn’t hear her gagging. Robin had to throw two capsules down the toilet because they had become such a gelatinous mess. The third one went down her throat on the first try.
After that, she took two short tokes on one of the joints Ray had given her, and then carefully put it out. She opened the window and waved at the smoke while Linda kept banging on the door.
Now Robin pulled the covers up and lay on her side to think about her mother. Once Robin learned about the man, she had to give up all those soothing fantasiesof amnesia and kidnapping by pirates or gypsies. Gradually, since her father’s death, her mind’s image of her mother changed, too. The beauty she believed she remembered became shallow and ordinary. Yet Robin clung to an old idea that the man in the case was handsome and rich, maybe even famous. One day Robin might open a newspaper and find her mother in the act of dining at the White House or attending the Academy Awards. She could only think of Miriam in extravagant circumstances, wealthy in every respect except for peace of mind and true happiness. All the furs and jewels in the world were unable to console her in her regret. And she would be almost unrecognizable now because of the rapid and savage aging process that had
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