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Show -94 child, but a tiny very old woman with a cynical face and reddened sagging cheeks. Mary-Ellen tapped me on the arm. "What are you doing?" "Nothing." The crowd milled and reformed itself; Thorneberry and his obscene midget partner disappeared. "I can see that." Her voice was sharp. "Come to the bedroom with me for a minute," I said. "I want to have a talk with you." She shook her head; the chestnut hair sparkled under Maybelle's incandescent chandeliers. "Yes, now," I said. "Or I'll pick you up and carry you there in front of everybody." She was a little girl and I could lift her easily. I took her by the wrist and pulled her along; she trotted beside me, smiling and nodding at Maybelle's friends as we passed by. She was furious but I knew what I wanted. "Oh Buck! How could you act like this," she said as soon as the bedroom door closed behind us. I pulled her toward the bed and she began to cry. "I want warmth, I want love," I said. "Shh! They'll hear us. Oh Buck why do you want to ruin everything?" "I've been watching the people out there," I said, "and I'm becoming suspicious. I'm beginning to think they're just like the people in Sam Madrigal's class except that these are a bit smarter or luckier. But they're hyenas too." |