Solos (29 page)

“And Samuel Johnson used to crusade against the word
fun
. He thought it was vulgar.”

“And they used to preach about Elvis in churches.”

Emily turned her hand over to squeeze Pat's tiny hand, and reached out for Oliver's. They sat for a moment, connected—like a séance or a prayer group—before they returned to their chips and guacamole.

Before they left, she told them she's decided to go to Hugh Lang's poker game next Friday, and they looked at her—Pat with her little rabbity grin, Oliver with his big loose-lipped one—as if she had just given them a wonderful gift.

It has begun to snow, a few random flakes that, surprisingly quickly, become a thickening veil. Emily finishes her tea, yawns, and goes back to the window. The roof opposite, lit up all night, is covered, and the water tower has a white hat. One of the kittens—Noel, she's pretty sure—leaps off the bed and stalks over to the sofa where she is sitting. He jumps up and kneads her lap, then settles down, purring, and, together, they watch the snow fall on the city out of the deep blue of the night sky.

I cannot pretend that the reader shall know, as he ought to be made to know, the future fate and fortunes of our personages. They must be left still struggling. But then is not such always in truth the case …?

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Katherine Florey for her very helpful early readings of the manuscript, and especially for the legal advice. To James Bloomfield for the migraine cure. To Williamsburgers Judith Maniatis for introducing me to 11211, Jane Schwartz for her continual inspiration, and Doug Safranek for the pickles. And of course to Noodles, Zipper, Eggy, Duster, Miko, and the incomparable Duke.

And thanks to the BARC (Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition) shelter and to Peter Caine: the book owes a lot to them both.

I am also grateful to the following websites, of which I made liberal use for palindromes and other bits of wordplay. I recommend them all as delightful ways to while away far too many hours:

www.palindromes.org
—
Jim Kalb's Palindrome Connection

www.wordways.com
—
Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational
Linguistics

http://realchange.org/pal/index2.htm
—
The Palindromist

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2004 by Kitty Burns Florey

ISBN: 978-1-4976-9342-5

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