The World Behind the Door by Mike Resnick Read Free Book Online

The table had a garish cloth over it, and an old wine bottle held two limp flowers. They sat in splendid isolation for a few minutes, and then Jinx got to her feet.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "I must excuse myself for a moment," said Jinx, heading off toward the single bathroom.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  Dali nodded absently, briefly considered eating the flowers and drinking the dirty water from the wine bottle, but rejected the notion when he realized that there was no one else in the taverna. No sense acting like a crazy man if there was no one around to appreciate it and report it to their friends.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  The waiter brought out the meals—there was no point in ordering a particular dish, since the taverna only cooked one dish per day—and stopped to chat with Dali for a moment.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "You have a guest today, Senor Dali?" he asked, indicating the chair that had clearly been moved when Jinx got out of it.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "My cousin from Barcelona," lied Dali.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "How goes the painting?"
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "The same as usual, Felipe," said Dali. "What have we for dinner?"
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "Today's catch."
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "That's what you had the last five times," said Dali. "When are you going to serve something interesting?"
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "I can speak to my uncle, who does the cooking," said Felipe. "What did you have in mind?"
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "Robins' beaks, chocolate-covered cicadas, black mamba imported from Africa."
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  Felipe chuckled. "You are always making the jokes, Senor Dali."
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "You get them and I will eat them."
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "You know, I almost believe you would." Still chuckling, he vanished back into the kitchen just before Jinx returned to the table.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  Jinx ate her meal enthusiastically, but Dali kept glancing at the door, wondering just how many of his bones Gala would break if word of his new companion reached her. He figured the odds against her believing that Jinx was just a student and a friend were about the same as the sun turning into a snowball before morning.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  They finished the meal. Jinx went outside while Dali pulled some bills out of his pocket and laid them on the table.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "Thank you, Senor Dali," said Felippe, emerging from the kitchen at the sound of Dali's chair being pushed back. He looked around. "Your cousin never showed up."
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "My cousin is outside waiting for me." Dali indicated Jinx's empty plate. "You can see that she ate her dinner."
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "I can see that somebody did," said Felipe, sure Dali was making some kind of joke. "I'll tell my uncle that you enjoyed his cooking twice as much as usual. And I'll make sure he prepares frosted walrus whiskers the next time you come by."
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  Felipe laughed uproariously at his own joke and vanished back into the kitchen.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "It was a nice meal," said Jinx as Dali joined her outside the taverna. "But next time we go out for dinner, I want to go someplace big and crowded. It would be more interesting and exciting."
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "We'll see," said Dali noncommittally, for he had already decided that it made more sense to go places like this taverna, where there was no one to report him to Gala.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "You are afraid of Gala," she said suddenly.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "I am not!" he lied, startled.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "We can go to some restaurant or taverna where nobody knows you, and then they will not tell her."
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  "There is no place where I am not known," said Dali, not without a touch of pride. "If I see a new woman, or create a new painting, or even lose a wager, they know about it almost as soon as it happens. It is the price of fame. You