He looked down at the small woman greeting him, taking care of her hand,
which felt to him to be flimsy, although one could say that was his
prejudice. In an attempt to amuse her, he bowed his head briefly. He
noticed her perfume and her attraction.
It seemed to her as she saw for a moment the top of his head, that he had
some cobweb caught there, near the back, at the top, hair and web tied
round each other roughly in a poor loose knot which shimmered in incident
light. He might have picked it up from a low doorway and then, perhaps,
have wound it round by scratching his head later. It hardly showed. It
repulsed her.
He found most women to be attractive. That was, for him, the way things
are; he did not think that it signified; he just enjoyed it, though he
rarely acted on it.
How are you? he asked.
She seemed surprised but answered and asked how he was.
Oh, he said, he was fair; really, fine.
Then she asked him who he was.
She saw that he was taken aback. He gave his name. He saw that the name
was new to her.
He asked: Haven't you come to meet me?
No, she said, and explained that she had heard a noise and looked in.
Having said that, she coloured, remembering how he had first appeared to
her.
How could she have thought that?
And she really had. Hadn't she?
-----
Lawrence Upton
http://sho-zyg.com/upton.html
Visiting Fellow, Music Dept,
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross, London SE14 6NW
----
|