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Authors: Graham Masterton
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wondering if you happened to know what happened to the owners.'
'Oh,' said the young man. 'The owners.'
'Effie, sweetheart,' Craig put in. 'This young man has attracted our attention, or so he says. Do you think we can ask him why?'
Effie persisted. 'Mr. and Mrs. Berryman, do you remember them? She was kind of plumpish with white hair and he was tall and very skinny with eyeglasses. I asked at our bed-and-breakfast and down at the Country Goose but nobody could clearly recall.'
'I guess people wouldn't,' the young man nodded. 'People, like, forget things here, when they don't particularly want to remember them.'
'Do you know what happened to them?' Effie coaxed him.
'Jesus,' said Craig. 'We're driving past, he waves, and we still don't know why. All of a sudden, it's old folks week, and we're talking long-lost inn owners.'
The young man said, 'I don't know the whole story.' There was a long, taut pause. Lightning crackled in the near distance, with a sound like tearing calico, and then the hills echoed with a muffled drum-roll of thunder.
Craig said, 'What was it?'
The young man blinked and looked around. 'Thunder I guess.'
'I know it's thunder. What I meant was, what happened to Mr. and Mrs. Berryman?'
'Oh, them. Well, this was six or seven years ago. Business got worse and worse, and in the end they went bankrupt. Then Mrs. Berryman died in a fire. I don't know what happened to Mr. Berryman. Right after the fire he left, and nobody ever heard from him again. Some people say that he went to Minnesota, but I don't know.'
'Oh, I feel so sorry for them,' said Effie. 'They were always such happy people.'
The young man lifted his feet off the rail. 'My mom always says that happiness is finite. That's what makes it happiness. If it lasted too long, we'd all grow to hate it. Like, if we had prime rib for every meal, or orgasms went on for a week.'
'Your mom sounds like quite a philosopher,' said Craig. 'My mom? Forget it. My mom could use a head transplant.'
Effie laughed. 'That's not a very complimentary thing to say about her.'
'Hey… she's the first to admit it. If you ever talked to her, you'd think she just arrived from Mars about an hour ago. If you're staying in Cold Spring, you probably met her already. She runs the Hungry Moon Natural Nourishment Store on Main Street. Health foods, crystal balls, occult stuff. You know how she got here? My grandparents brought her to Woodstock in '69 and like left her behind. Forgot her. Can you imagine it? Just forgetting your kid like that, like some umbrella?'
Effie said, in disbelief, 'The woman who runs the Hungry Moon is your mother?'
'Sure. That's right. Have you met her? You don't mind if I eat my lunch?'
'No, no. Go ahead. But your mom is so young-looking!' The young man laboriously spread one slice of his pumpernickel with Philly cheese. 'She's young-looking because she's young. She was only twelve when my grandparents left her at Woodstock. I guess she must have been tough, though, because she lived with this busload of hippies for three or four years afterwards. Actually my grandparents did come back looking for her after a couple of months, but by that time she didn't want to go.'
'When did she have you?'
'Well, she was sixteen years old when she got pregnant, that's all. But I guess she was lucky. Mr. and Mrs. Berryman gave her a live-in job right here at the Red Oaks Inn. She saved up just about everything she earned, and then she opened the Hungry Moon. That's it; the story of my dubious ancestry.'
'Your mom's name is Pepper something, is that right?' asked Effie. 'I've talked to her once or twice.'
'That's right, Pepper Moriarty. My name's Norman. Actually on my birth certificate it says No Man because mom wanted to name me after my father, and she wasn't exactly sure who
'Oh,' said the young man. 'The owners.'
'Effie, sweetheart,' Craig put in. 'This young man has attracted our attention, or so he says. Do you think we can ask him why?'
Effie persisted. 'Mr. and Mrs. Berryman, do you remember them? She was kind of plumpish with white hair and he was tall and very skinny with eyeglasses. I asked at our bed-and-breakfast and down at the Country Goose but nobody could clearly recall.'
'I guess people wouldn't,' the young man nodded. 'People, like, forget things here, when they don't particularly want to remember them.'
'Do you know what happened to them?' Effie coaxed him.
'Jesus,' said Craig. 'We're driving past, he waves, and we still don't know why. All of a sudden, it's old folks week, and we're talking long-lost inn owners.'
The young man said, 'I don't know the whole story.' There was a long, taut pause. Lightning crackled in the near distance, with a sound like tearing calico, and then the hills echoed with a muffled drum-roll of thunder.
Craig said, 'What was it?'
The young man blinked and looked around. 'Thunder I guess.'
'I know it's thunder. What I meant was, what happened to Mr. and Mrs. Berryman?'
'Oh, them. Well, this was six or seven years ago. Business got worse and worse, and in the end they went bankrupt. Then Mrs. Berryman died in a fire. I don't know what happened to Mr. Berryman. Right after the fire he left, and nobody ever heard from him again. Some people say that he went to Minnesota, but I don't know.'
'Oh, I feel so sorry for them,' said Effie. 'They were always such happy people.'
The young man lifted his feet off the rail. 'My mom always says that happiness is finite. That's what makes it happiness. If it lasted too long, we'd all grow to hate it. Like, if we had prime rib for every meal, or orgasms went on for a week.'
'Your mom sounds like quite a philosopher,' said Craig. 'My mom? Forget it. My mom could use a head transplant.'
Effie laughed. 'That's not a very complimentary thing to say about her.'
'Hey… she's the first to admit it. If you ever talked to her, you'd think she just arrived from Mars about an hour ago. If you're staying in Cold Spring, you probably met her already. She runs the Hungry Moon Natural Nourishment Store on Main Street. Health foods, crystal balls, occult stuff. You know how she got here? My grandparents brought her to Woodstock in '69 and like left her behind. Forgot her. Can you imagine it? Just forgetting your kid like that, like some umbrella?'
Effie said, in disbelief, 'The woman who runs the Hungry Moon is your mother?'
'Sure. That's right. Have you met her? You don't mind if I eat my lunch?'
'No, no. Go ahead. But your mom is so young-looking!' The young man laboriously spread one slice of his pumpernickel with Philly cheese. 'She's young-looking because she's young. She was only twelve when my grandparents left her at Woodstock. I guess she must have been tough, though, because she lived with this busload of hippies for three or four years afterwards. Actually my grandparents did come back looking for her after a couple of months, but by that time she didn't want to go.'
'When did she have you?'
'Well, she was sixteen years old when she got pregnant, that's all. But I guess she was lucky. Mr. and Mrs. Berryman gave her a live-in job right here at the Red Oaks Inn. She saved up just about everything she earned, and then she opened the Hungry Moon. That's it; the story of my dubious ancestry.'
'Your mom's name is Pepper something, is that right?' asked Effie. 'I've talked to her once or twice.'
'That's right, Pepper Moriarty. My name's Norman. Actually on my birth certificate it says No Man because mom wanted to name me after my father, and she wasn't exactly sure who
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