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Show All the Variables & Other Love Stories 87 The chaperone, an effeminate man in his late thirties knowledgeable of both Rachmaninoff's life and the bizarre history of the manuscript on display, had been hired by the Russian Conservatory's insurance company to look after the symphony while on tour. He answered all Kell's questions and reverently turned the pages with small tweezers while Kell inspected the inky notes. Kell loitered in the lobby, waiting for intermission, and occasionally wandered back over to the chaperone with questions-the ink stain in the margin of one page, a half-formed thumb print at the bottom of another, the curiously shaped treble clefts. The chaperone asked if Kell might keep guard while he ran to the lavatory. The manuscript rested on a cherry-stained music stand with neo-classical flourishes beside an aluminum folding chair for the chaperone. Kell sat while he waited, unsure of what to say should anyone approach him. He was playing with a pair of latex gloves the chaperone wore to handle the manuscript when the epiphany struck. He checked the time, put on the latex gloves, gave a last sweeping glance around the deserted lobby, gathered together the dog-eared pages of Rachmaninoff s first symphony, and, exchanging nods with an elderly usher, walked out the front entrance of Abravenal Hall. * Madonna with Child With the exception of Travis' disappearance from the abandoned lot, Feste thought the party was going rather well, especially considering that against his better judgment Anthony had been allowed to attend. Anthony was the most un-grindcore slap-bassist ever to play in such a kickass band as Vagina Dentata. He tried explaining this to |
