Read Online Sleeping in Flame by Jonathan Carroll - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jonathan Carroll
Tags: Fiction, General, Fantasy fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary, Love Stories, Occult fiction, Body; Mind & Spirit, Reincarnation, Shamans, Women artists, Screenwriters, Vienna (Austria)
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But which of those intimate details did Nicholas know, too? Both said separately they'd never had an affair.
Yet despite those assertions, certain looks crossed the table between them that were as thick and voluptuous as whipped cream. Paranoia often rides into town right behind love and makes a beeline for all the same soft spots. Nicholas had "given" me Maris, and I felt enormous gratitude, but that was a long yesterday ago. Today I had to be the only one she wanted to steal horses with.
"Have you decided what you're going to do yet?"
"I think I'd better stay here awhile and think the whole thing over. You know?"
"I spoke with Uschi. She said you could stay with her as long as you like."
"That's kind of her. But I want to find an apartment as soon as I can.
Do you know of any place?"
He shrugged. "Not right now, but I'll ask around. There's always something. What about all your things in Munich? Are you going to get them?"
"Yes, but not soon. I know Luc will watch my house for a while if he's still there. So I'll wait a few weeks and go back in the middle of the night or something with a truck. Maybe I'll ask your friend Goldstar to go with me."
She got up to go to the bathroom, touching Nicholas on the shoulder as she passed. When she was gone, he pointed his fork at me and squinted.
"All right, tell me everything."
"She's the best."
"Did she calm down? Is she all right?"
"I think so. Hearing Luc might come made her nervous, but generally, she's okay."
"You've got to take care of her, Walker. Promise me you'll do it."
"That's easy. I haven't felt so good with a woman in a long time. It's really been a happy day."
"I noticed! When I came in, you two looked like little birds in a Walt Disney movie. You know, where they put their heads together and thousands of red hearts come rushing out?
"Did she tell you about the cities she builds? They're amazing. Like nothing you've ever seen.
Someone in Hollywood saw her show in Hamburg and asked her to design a whole space city Page 27
for one of those _Star Wars_ movies."
"Really? Which one? She didn't say anything about it."
"Because she didn't do it! They offered her enough money to live on for a year, but she said those films are dumb."
"What's dumb?" Neither of us had seen her return.
"I was telling Walker why you didn't do that _Star Wars_ movie."
"Why? Because they make science and space look terrific. I hate that kind of propaganda! The whole idea they're projecting is, let science do whatever it wants and soon we'll be whizzing happily around in our very own rockets. Everybody'll get to wear a pink aluminum foil suit. Isn't that wonderful? I don't think kids should get excited about aluminum foil suits, or laser cannons, or stun guns. And I don't think science knows what the hell it's doing these days. It scares me."
"Hello, Nicholas, you asshole."
A blond woman in her early forties, overdressed in ten different designers' best, strode up next to his chair. She broadcast a thousand-watt look of anger, hurt, you-owe-me. Nicholas looked at her and smiled wanly.
"_Servus_, Evelyn. How are you?"
"Not so good, Nicholas. Could we talk a minute?"
He got up and walked with her toward the front of the restaurant. I looked at Maris to see what she made of it. She watched them go, then spoke quietly.
"There must be a lot of women in this town furious at Nicholas. He has a bad habit of making women fall in love with him and then forgetting about them."
"Does that bother you?"
"When I loved him romantically it tore my heart out. Now it just makes me sad for him. He wants so much for people to love him."
"What's wrong with that? I want people to love me, too."
She reached across the table and touched my hand. "That's not the same, and you know it. We're always trying to fit some name to our lonely: Winning people's love is Nicholas's. And that's okay, but not if you toss it aside once you've won it."
"What do you mean, 'fit a name to our
Yet despite those assertions, certain looks crossed the table between them that were as thick and voluptuous as whipped cream. Paranoia often rides into town right behind love and makes a beeline for all the same soft spots. Nicholas had "given" me Maris, and I felt enormous gratitude, but that was a long yesterday ago. Today I had to be the only one she wanted to steal horses with.
"Have you decided what you're going to do yet?"
"I think I'd better stay here awhile and think the whole thing over. You know?"
"I spoke with Uschi. She said you could stay with her as long as you like."
"That's kind of her. But I want to find an apartment as soon as I can.
Do you know of any place?"
He shrugged. "Not right now, but I'll ask around. There's always something. What about all your things in Munich? Are you going to get them?"
"Yes, but not soon. I know Luc will watch my house for a while if he's still there. So I'll wait a few weeks and go back in the middle of the night or something with a truck. Maybe I'll ask your friend Goldstar to go with me."
She got up to go to the bathroom, touching Nicholas on the shoulder as she passed. When she was gone, he pointed his fork at me and squinted.
"All right, tell me everything."
"She's the best."
"Did she calm down? Is she all right?"
"I think so. Hearing Luc might come made her nervous, but generally, she's okay."
"You've got to take care of her, Walker. Promise me you'll do it."
"That's easy. I haven't felt so good with a woman in a long time. It's really been a happy day."
"I noticed! When I came in, you two looked like little birds in a Walt Disney movie. You know, where they put their heads together and thousands of red hearts come rushing out?
"Did she tell you about the cities she builds? They're amazing. Like nothing you've ever seen.
Someone in Hollywood saw her show in Hamburg and asked her to design a whole space city Page 27
for one of those _Star Wars_ movies."
"Really? Which one? She didn't say anything about it."
"Because she didn't do it! They offered her enough money to live on for a year, but she said those films are dumb."
"What's dumb?" Neither of us had seen her return.
"I was telling Walker why you didn't do that _Star Wars_ movie."
"Why? Because they make science and space look terrific. I hate that kind of propaganda! The whole idea they're projecting is, let science do whatever it wants and soon we'll be whizzing happily around in our very own rockets. Everybody'll get to wear a pink aluminum foil suit. Isn't that wonderful? I don't think kids should get excited about aluminum foil suits, or laser cannons, or stun guns. And I don't think science knows what the hell it's doing these days. It scares me."
"Hello, Nicholas, you asshole."
A blond woman in her early forties, overdressed in ten different designers' best, strode up next to his chair. She broadcast a thousand-watt look of anger, hurt, you-owe-me. Nicholas looked at her and smiled wanly.
"_Servus_, Evelyn. How are you?"
"Not so good, Nicholas. Could we talk a minute?"
He got up and walked with her toward the front of the restaurant. I looked at Maris to see what she made of it. She watched them go, then spoke quietly.
"There must be a lot of women in this town furious at Nicholas. He has a bad habit of making women fall in love with him and then forgetting about them."
"Does that bother you?"
"When I loved him romantically it tore my heart out. Now it just makes me sad for him. He wants so much for people to love him."
"What's wrong with that? I want people to love me, too."
She reached across the table and touched my hand. "That's not the same, and you know it. We're always trying to fit some name to our lonely: Winning people's love is Nicholas's. And that's okay, but not if you toss it aside once you've won it."
"What do you mean, 'fit a name to our
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