The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (51 page)

'I don
't
mind,
'
i
s
his un
committed
r
eply.
H
e
re
ally
f
eels
that he do
esn't
mind
.
Thi
s
i
s
an exi
stence
that
c
an b
e
enjo
yed
and manipul
ated
i
f
he
's
cle
ver
enou
gh;
ju
st say
ing y
es
to the offers he lik
es
th
e so
und of. Once p
arents
b
ecome c
ompetitors th
ey
pa
y yo
u
a
n undue attention th
at
know
s
no bound
s.

'You
c
an tak
e
your coat off. Thi
s is
h
ome
to
o,' s
he says
.
'Th
e
jumper lo
oks
l
ovely
-
it
's
just
y
our
c
olour. Stand up let's
h
ave a
look
a
t
y
ou
.
Y
es, y
ou've
g
rown
.
Y
ou
hav
e.'

Toni
's
ma
in sa
lon
i
s in the H
igh
Str
eet, sa
ndwiched b
e
twe
en a
p
aper s
hop
a
nd
a
gre
engrocer.
T
aliesin
tri
es
to b
e
cont
emptuous o
f the poor displ
ay o
f
f
ruit in th
e
gr
een
groc
er's.

'Not
as
m
any a
pples as Hand
ycott, '
h
e says.
'N
o
.'
Hi
s
mother looks at th
e rows
o
f f
ruit
a
nd acknow
l
edges
it.

'
Handycott's
go
t ten t
ypes
of
a
pple
.
And h
e's g
ot k
iwi
fruit
.'
T
aliesin
w
ants
her to feel that
s
he i
s
d
eprived
b
y
livin
g
and
s
hopping h
ere.
As th
ey
pa
ss
he
sees
kiwi fruit
a
t th
e
ba
ck
of th
e
di
splay a
nd he sa
ys
nothin
g.

Hi
s
mother is wearing a ch
eck
s
kirt
w
ith
a
kilt pin and
a
s
ilk
sca
rf ti
ed a
round
a s
mooth white jump
er.
Sh
e
ha
s
l
ost weig
ht
an
d m
oves
di
fferently, as
if th
es
e a
a
ir
g
ives h
er
a lift.
S
he
a
lso
wea
rs
a
di
fferent
p
erfume,
s
weeter
a
nd mu
skier
th
an
h
er
u
sual.
H
e
n
oticed
it in th
e car
.

'
Have
yo
u
go
t
a
d
ifferent
p
erfume
on?
'
h
e as
ks.

Sh
e ho
lds
o
ut h
er w
rist. 'Wh
at
do
y
ou think?
'

T
aliesin s
niffs th
e ai
r
a
round h
er
h
and.

'
It'
s
o
kay.'

Th
is
p
erfidious sw
itch of p
erfumes
di
sappoints
him
;
it
co
nfirms th
e c
hange in h
er.
H
e'd
al
ways
b
elieved
that
s
he
wore
i
t excl
usively
for
h
is
n
ose
.
Her
sc
ent
was
h
er
p
erson,
h
er
fin
gerprint
.

Th
e sa
lon
is the size of a
sma
ll cl
assroom
w
ith
wa
iting
s
pace
fo
r t
en peo
ple.
Ton
i
has
t
wo o
ther
sa
lons but th
is
i
s
th
e
l
arge
s
t
.
A
pparently
h
e
i
s a
ri
ch
ha
irdresser.
Th
ere a
re m
agazi
nes
on a
l
ong an
d l
ow t
able
and
tr
ays o
f t
ea a
nd
coffee
.
T
he p
arlour sme
lls
of s
hampoo
a
nd th
e
fl
oor
is
ca
rpeted with th
e
m
orning's trimming
s
.
T
his i
s t
he pl
ace w
here hi
s
m
other
f
ell
i
n
l
ove w
ith h
er
h
air-cutting
princ
e
.
Th
is
i
s
wh
ere
M
r
R
apunzel cast
h
is spe
ll
.

Wh
atever
h
e
i
s
m
eant to
think or f
eel,
T
aliesin
l
ikes
Toni
.
T
aliesin senses
th
at
T
oni is awar
e
of
hi
s
p
art
i
n
s
tealing hi
s
m
other
a
way
.
But h
is co
uld-be-stepfather d
oesn't
tr
y
t
oo
h
ard
to impress o
r
wi
n
h
im ove
r. H
e
l
aughs
a
l
ot a
nd h
e
d
oesn't
b
end
d
own
t
o s
hake
Ta
liesin's h
and;
h
e sta
nds upri
ght
an
d
give
s
h
im
r
espect.
In
a s
uperficial
co
mparison w
ith
T
oni,
Ta
liesin thi
nks
hi
s
fa
ther
wo
uld
w
in. Hi
s fa
ther i
s
s
lightly t
aller,
br
oader,
m
ore a
ttractive.
T
oni
h
as
l
ong
h
air an
d h
i
s
bru
sh mo
ustache
an
d
fai
ntly
o
live
s
kin
give
him
a
gy
psy
ai
r. But T
oni
k
nows
thin
gs
hi
s
f
ather
d
oesn't;
hi
s
k
nowledge
is encyclope
dic
o
n
ce
rtain
s
ubjects,
es
pecially b
ird
s
.
H
is voice
i
s
h
is
b
est
fea
ture. Put him b
ehind a
w
all a
nd
t
ry t
o g
u
ess
w
hat h
e
l
ooked
lik
e f
rom h
is vo
ice
a
nd
yo
u'd
t
hink h
im an ac
tor
or
a
n En
glish
t
eacher.
It
is a vo
ice th
at
pl
ea
s
es a
m
usical
ear.

'Welcome,'
he says. Taliesin expects his mother to kiss Toni but she busies herself
,
taking a broom and sweeping
so
me
tr
immings.
Throu
ghout
h
er
l
ife s
he
has
t
alked of
t
he importa
nce
o
f
a wo
man brin
ging
up
c
hildren
a
nd put
ting c
hildren b
efore a ca
reer. N
ow s
he h
as a job work
ing
fo
r
Toni, sweep
ing
t
he h
air,
m
aking
th
e coffee a
nd
writi
ng d
own
th
e a
ppointments
.
Sh
e a
lso
was
hes, m
ousses, c
urls,
fr
izzes
,
p
erms, co
lours
a
nd bl
ow-dries
h
air.
And
fo
r
t
he l
ast few mo
nths T
oni
h
as
b
een
t
eaching
h
er
h
ow
t
o c
ut.