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Show 117 role, an actor's workshop kind of thing. He gestured with his eyebrows -now feminine surprise, now gossipy friendliness-it was amazing, really, how he could so completely become this woman she had never seen. Alice took up her part-as Mrs. Green, the next door neighbor-asking about Herman's well-being, Roger responded, his brows drawn together -Mrs. Harms: childless, talking from a mother's love of this animal. This dog, who had become her child, her Herman. The serious concern on Roger's face was hilarious-they all broke into laughter, following Mr. Green's ringing laugh which reassured them that it was, indeed, acceptable to make fun of this woman's love. Roger's booming laugh ended in a smile. A sly, strange smile which was somehow a comment on his performance. And as the conversation resumed, his face-now relaxing into its normal lines-took on an almost magical attractiveness. A year ago she had not known he existed- how his face had changed since then! At first, those first few months last spring, his face had held that magical attractiveness. He had been light and changeable, unpredictable-exciting to her. It was only afterwards, during the long summer, that he had become heavy-unchanging, fixed. Boring, even. Irritating to her. Yes, now she suddenly realized this-those feelings which she had not consciously admitted to herself: he had become-ugly to her. An ugly young man. His nose, his fleshy lips, his heavy eyes. How boring he had become! How ugly! Like a giant toad. No, perhaps not ugly-just repulsive in his heaviness: as if he were going to squash the life from her. She had hidden these feelings from him, of course, as best she could. Certainly, he must have sensed them, some of them anyway; but by and large, hadn t |