The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll Read Free Book Online Page B

really happy being here, cooking… . Do you understand what I mean?” Her glare dissolved back into lip biting, but she was watching me very carefully.
    “Yes, well, sure. I mean, of course I understand… . Boy , that curry was excellent, Saxony.”
    Later, when I gave her the big book on puppets, she took one look at it and started to cry. And then she wouldn’t pick it up: she got out of her chair and came over to me. She put her arms around my neck and hugged and hugged me.
    We started necking, and moved over to the bed. We began undoing each other’s clothes as fast as we could. But it wasn’t fast enough, so we separated and undid our own buttons. Although her back was turned to me, I stopped when I saw her pull her shirt over her head. I love to watch a woman undress. No matter if you’re going to make love to her or you’re peeking at her through a window, there’s something tingly and wonderfully exciting about it.
    I put my thumb on the back of her neck and slowly ran it down the bump-bridge of her spine. She looked over her shoulder and gave a little grimace. “Can I ask a favor?”
    “Of course.”
    “I’m very shy about undressing in front of someone. I’m sorry, but do you think you could close your eyes or look away while I do it?”
    I leaned across the bed and kissed her shoulder. “Sure. I get embarrassed about that too.”
    It was perfect. I hate taking off my pants in front of a woman I don’t know. So this was great — I’d turn my back to her, pull off my pants while she pulled off hers, we’d both slip under the covers at the same time, turn off the light for a little while . . ,
    RRRrriiinnnggg!
    I’d just stepped out of my boxer shorts when the phone rang. No one ever called me, especially not at twelve o’clock at night. The phone was on the other side of the room, so, naked, I sprang for it. Saxony let out a whoop, and unconsciously I turned and faced her. Her green panties were down around her knees, and from the look on her face, she didn’t know whether to push them down or pull them hack up.
    “Thomas, where have you been? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days!”
    “Ma?”
    “Yes. The only time I can ever get you is in the middle of the night. Did you get those pants that I sent you from Bloomingdale’s?”
    “ Pants? Ma …” I put my hand over the mouthpiece and looked at Saxony. “My mother wants to know if I got the pants she sent me from Bloomingdale’s.”
    Sax immediately looked at the panties in her hand and then at me. We both started laughing. I got off the phone as fast as I could.
     
    For the next few weeks we poked around more and more together. We went down to New Haven to see a play, drove all the way to Sturbridge Village for dinner one night, and sat out a freak hailstorm in a little cottage my mother owned on the Rhode Island shore.
    One afternoon she sheepishly asked if she could go to Galen.
    “Yes, but only if you promise to go with me.”

Part Two
1
    “Saxony, you can’t take all of those suitcases! What do you think this is, Wagon Train ?”
    All she needed was an ancient steamer trunk to complete her lineup. There was a delicate yellow-and-red wicker basket, a scruffy knapsack that bulged like a bratwurst, an old brown leather suitcase with brass locks and edges. She’d topped it all off with several things just back from the dry cleaner’s in plastic wrap on metal hangers.
    She scowled at me and walked around to the back of the station wagon. She flipped down the gate and laid the first of her many things in.
    “Don’t you hassle me, Thomas. I’ve had one lousy day so far, okay? Just don’t hassle me.”
    I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, looked at my new haircut in the rearview mirror, and wondered whether it was worth a fight. For a week I’d been telling her that I wanted to travel as light as possible on this trip. Since we had been together almost every day after my New York trip, I’d come to