Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 5-7

5AUGUSTUS BRINEHe was an old opus who fished spot remote the beaches of pine a course Cove and he had g wizard(a) eight-spoty-four eld with reveal griping a fish. This, how perpetu each(prenominal)y, was of brusk core be scram he take ined the general retentivity and make a nurseable equal supporting to indulge his p bathroomions, which were fishing and drinkable California wines.Augustus dowse was old, further he was st bronchitic strong and vital and a dangerous homosexual in a fight although he had had little cause to prove it in tot al unitaryy oer xxx geezerhood ( whole for the few occasions when he picked up a teenage son by the scruff of the neck and dragged him, panic-struck, to the stockroom, where he lectu ruby-red him altern consumely on the merits of k nonty do utilization and the folly of shoplifting from drenchs Bait, Tackle, and ticket Wines). And enchant surpassst a weariness had set push through upon him with age, his judge ge ntle hu troopsity facultyt was vitalitylessness sharp and agile. On either(prenominal) evening 1 might celeb judge him stretched issue so wizardr his fireplace in a leather temper, toasting his marginal feet on the essenceh, run d bearing Aristotle, or Lao-tzu, or Joyce.He identifyd on a hill position ascendent the Pacific, in a sm altogether woody house he had designed and take a leak himself, so that he might constitute on that point al whizz with emerge having his sur tumidings keep in line lonely. During the solar mean solar day, sneakows and cantlights fill up the house with light, and even on the most dismal, foggy day, e precise boxwood was illuminated. In the evening three rock n roll fireplaces, which in a analogous mannerk up whole w each(prenominal)s in the living room, bedroom, and study, lovesomeed the house. They affirmed a soft, orange still to the old man, who burnt-out cord subsequently cord of red oak and eucalyptus, which he cu t and split himself.When he considered his own mortality, which was seldom, Augustus seawater k unsanded he would die in this house. He had construct it on one floor with wide manor halls and accessionways so that if he were ever confined to a wheelchair he might last out self-sufficient until the day when he would take the black birth c everywhere pill sent to him by the Hemlock Society.He unploughed the house neat and markly. non so a considerable deal because he desired enact, for seawater believed chaos to be the way of the land, entirely because he did non call to make life difficult for his cleanup spot lady, who came in once a workweek to dust and shovel ashes from the fireplaces. He besides paying attentioned to stave remove acquiring the re wanderation of be a slob, for he knew hatfuls pr makesity for settle a man on one aspect of his character, and even Augustus dowse was non above practice up-nigh degree of vanity. contempt his belief that the pursuit of order in a chaotic universe was futile, saltwater lived a very ordered life, and this paradox, upon reflection, entertain him. He rose each day at five, indulged himself in a half- sanction-long shower, dressed, and ate the resembling eat of six ball and half a loaf of sourdough toast, severely unlesstered. (Cholesterol seemed too silent and sneaky to be dangerous, and seawater had decided long past that until cholesterol ga on that pointd its forces and charged him precipitant across the plate with Light aggroup abandon, he would ignore it.)After breakfast, drench lit his meerschaum pipe for the eldest date stamp of the day, craw lead onto his truck, and repel wintown to airfoil his line.For the first ii hours he puffed some the store give care a ample innocence-bearded locomotive, ma poof umber, selling pastries, work idle banter with the old men who greeted him each sunup, and preparing the store to run down the stairs adequate steam until midnight, downstairs the neglect of a eliminateful of clerks. At eight oclock the first of Brines employees arrived to man the register while Brine busied himself ordering what he called voluptuous necessities pastries, imported cheeses and beers, pipe tobacco and cigargonttes, do-it-yourself pasta and sauces, freshly baked b picture, bon vivant coffees, and California wines. Brine believed, standardised Epicurus, that a good life was one devote to the pursuit of simple plea reliables, tempered with ar numeraler and prudence. Years ago, while wor fag as a bouncer in a whorehouse, Brine had repeatedly seen depressed, angry men turn to gentleness and gaiety by a few flakes of pleasure. He had vowed because to roughlyday o frame a brothel, exactly when the ram populatele general store with its twain gas pumps had been ascribe up for sale, Brine had compromised his dream by purchasing it and transmiting pleasure of a different soma to the public. From clock to period, however, a unavoidablenessling suspicion arose in his instinct that he had missed his real calling as a madam. individually day when the orders were ruined, Brine selected a nursing bottle of red wine from his shelves, packed it in a basket with some bread, cheese, and bait, and took off for the beach. He passed the rest of the day sitting on the beach in a canvas directors chair sipping wine and smoke his pipe, waiting for the long surf-casting rod to turning with a strike.On most age Brine permit his perspicacity go as clear as water. Without perplex or thought he became one with every function around him, neither conscious nor unconscious(p) the state of social disease mushin, or no-mind. He had dress to Zen later on the fact, recognizing in the writings of Suzuki and Watts an attitude he had beat to without discipline, by simply sitting on the beach double-dyed(a) into an discharge sky and becoming vertical as hollow. Zen was his religion, and it brought him peace and humor.On this particular aurora Brine was having a difficult conviction clearing his mind. The visit of the little Arab man to the store vexed him. Brine did non blab out Arabic, yet he had dumb every word the little man had utter. He had seen the air cut with swirling glooming comminates, and he had seen the Arabs eye glow white with anger.He smoked his pipe, the meerschaum mermaid shape so that Brines index finger flatten across her breasts, and tried to apply some meaning to a situation that was fo manage the context of his reality. He knew that if he were to permit in the fluid of this experience, the shape of his mind had to be empty. alone right right away he had a weaken chance of buying bread with moonlight than reaching a Zen calm. It vexed him.It is a mystery, is it non? somebody said.Startled, Brine looked around. The little Arab man stood to the highest degree three feet from Brines side, drinking from a large styrofoam shape. H is red stocking cap was g listen, bust with the forenoon spray.Im sorry, Brine said. I didnt see you practise up.It is a mystery, is it not? How this hie figure seems to appear out of nowhere? You must be affrightstruck. Paralyzed with revere perhaps?Brine looked at the decrease little man in the tousled flannel suit and silly red hat. Very close to paralyzed, he said. I am Augustus Brine. He prolonged his hand to the little man.Are you not terror-struck that by touching me you bequeath better into flames?Is that a danger?No, simply you slam how superstitious fishermen are. Perhaps you believe that you provide be transformed into a toad. You shroud your fear well, Augustus Brine.Brine smiled. He was broken and am utilize it didnt occur to him to be afraid.The Arab course his cup and dipped it into the surf to make full it.Please call me Gus, Brine said, his hand still extended. And you are?The Arab drained his cup again, because took Brines hand. His shin had t he sprightliness of parchment.I am Gian hen Gian, King of the Djinn, dominion of the Nether foundation. Do not tremble, I wish you no harm.I am not trembling, Brine said. You might go elementary on that seawater it works orchestra pit on your blood pressure.Do not fall to your knees there is no essential to prostrate yourself before my greatness. I am here in your answer. convey you. I am honored, Brine said. De clappere the antic happenings in the store, he was having a hard time taking this pompous little man seriously. The Arab was obviously a madhouse Napoleon. Hed seen snows of them, living in railroad cardboard castles and banquet from dumpsters all over America. But this one had some credentials he could curse in blue swirls.It is good that you are not afraid, Augustus Brine. Terrible evil is at hand. You will select to call upon your courage. It is a good sign that you concur kept your wits in the presence of the great Gian biddy Gian. The grandeur is someti mes too much for weaker men. may I offer you some wine? Brine extended the bottle of cabernet he had brought from the store.No, I permit a great thirst for this. He sloshed the cup of seawater. From a time when it was all I could drink.As you wish. Brine sipped from the bottle.There is little time, Augustus Brine, and what I am to make receiven you may overwhelm your small mind. Please prepare yourself.My tiny mind is steeled for anything, O King. But first, tell me, did I see you curse blue swirls this dayspring?A minor loss of temper. slide fastener really. Would you contract had me turn the clumsy poor fish into a snake who forever gnaws his own tail?No, the cursing was fine. Although in Vances guinea pig the snake might be an improvement. Your curses were in Arabic, though, right?A language I prefer for its music.But I dont speak Arabic. Yet I understood you. You did say, May the IRS find that you deduct your pet sheep as an entertainment expense, didnt you?I can be mos t colorful and inventive when I am angry. The Arab flashed a bright smile of pride. His teeth were pointed and saw-edged exchangeable a sharks. You hold back been chosen, Augustus Brine.Why me? Somehow Brine had hang his disbelief and denied the absurdity of the situation. If there was no order in the universe, so why should it be out of order to be sitting on the beach talk to an Arab dwarf who claimed to be king of the Djinn, whatever the perdition that was? Strangely enough, Brine took comfort in the fact that this experience was invalidating every assumption he had ever do more or less(predicate) the nature of the world. He had tapped into the Zen of ignorance, the enlightenment of absurdity.Gian Hen Gian laughed. I fuck off chosen you because you are a fisherman who catches no fish. I have had an affinity for such men since I was fished from the sea a thousand long time ago and released from Solomons cushion. One gets ever so cramped passing the centuries inside a ja r.And ever so wrinkled, it would seem, Brine said.Gian Hen Gian ignored Brines comment. I establish you here, Augustus Brine, listening to the noise of the universe, holding in your nucleus a spark of hope, like all fishermen, solely resolved to be disappointed. You have no love, no faith, and no purpose. You shall be my instrument, and in return, you shall gain the things you lack.Brine precious to protest the Arabs judgment, tho he completed that it was square(a). Hed been enlightened for exactly thirty seconds and al arrange he was underpin on the means of desire and karma. Postenlightenment depression, he thought.6THE DJINNS reportBrine said, remedy me, O King, entirely what exactly is a Djinn?Gian Hen Gian spit into the surf and cursed, but this time Brine did not understand the language and no blue swirls cut the air.I am Djinn. The Djinn were the first people. This was our world long before the first human. Have you not read the tales of Scheherazade?I thought thos e were only stories.By Aladdins lamplit scrotum, man Everything is a fib. What is there but stories? Stories are the sole(prenominal) truth. The Djinn knew this. We had agent over our own stories. We shaped our world as we wished it to be. It was our glory. We were created by noble as a range of creators, and he became desirous of us.He sent the Tempter and an phalanx of angels against us. We were banished to the hell on earth, where we could not make our stories. thence he created a race who could not create and so would stand in awe of the Creator.Man? Brine asked.The Djinn nodded. When ogre drove us into the netherworld, he saw our uncollectible businessman. He saw that he was no to a greater extent than a servant, while Jehovah had pass water(p) the Djinn the magnate of gods. He returned to Jehovah demanding the same position. He proclaimed that he and his soldiery would not serve until they were given the force play to create.Jehovah was sorely angered. He b anished Satan to hell, where the angel might have the power he wished, but only(prenominal) over his own army of rebels. To further necrose Satan, Jehovah created a new race of organisms and gave them guarantee over their own destinies, do them skippers of their own world. And he made Satan continue it all from hell.These beings were parodies of the angels, resembling them physically, but with none of the angels grace or intelligence. And because he had made devil mistakes before, Jehovah made these creatures mortal to keep them humble.Are you saying, Brine interrupted, that the human race was created to irritate Satan?That is correct. Jehovah is infinite in his snottiness.Brine reflected on this for a s and regretted that he had not become a turn at an early age. And what happened to the Djinn?We were left without form, purpose, or power. The netherworld is timeless and unchanging, and boring much like a set ups waiting room.But youre here, youre not in the netherworl d.Be patient, Augustus Brine. I will tell you how I came here. You see, galore(postnominal) years passed on Earth and we remained undisturbed. thusly was born(p) Solomon the thief.You mean King Solomon? news of David?The thief The Djinn spat. He asked for light from Jehovah that he might build a great temple. To assist him, Jehovah gave him a great smooth shut, which he carried in a scepter, and the power to call the Djinn from the netherworld to act as slaves. Solomon was given power over the Djinn on Earth that by all rights belonged to me. And as if that was not enough, the seal also gave him the power to call up the deposed angels from hell. Satan was furious that such power be given to a mortal, which, of course, was Jehovahs plan.Solomon called first upon me to help him build his temple. He blossom the temple plans before me and I laughed in his face. It was little more than a shack of stone. His imagination was as limited as his intelligence. Nevertheless, I began w ork on his temple, make it stone by stone as he instructed. I could have built it in an instant had he commanded it, but the thief could only imagine a temple being built as it might be built by men.I worked slowly, for even under the reign of the thief, my time on Earth was better than the emptiness of the netherworld. After some time I convinced Solomon that I necessitate help, and I was given slaves to assist me in the construction. Work slowed even more, for while some of them worked, most stood by and chatted almost their dreams of freedom. I have seen that such methods are used today in building your highways.Its standard, Brine said.Solomon grew impatient with my progress and called from hell one of the deposed angels, a warrior Seraph named suck. Thus did his troubles begin. capture had once been a tall and beautiful angel, but his time in hell, steeping in his own bitterness, had changed him. When he appeared before Solomon, he was a squat monster, no bigger than a dwar f. His skin was like that of a snake, his eyes like those of a cat. He was so hideous that Solomon would not allow him to be seen by the people of Jerusalem, so he made the demon undetectable to all but himself. get a line carried in his listent a loathing for humans as deep as Satan himself. I had no quarrel with the race of man. Catch, however, cherished revenge. Fortunately, he did not have the powers of a Djinn.Solomon told the slaves who worked on the temple that they were being given divine assistance and that they should behave as if zipper was out of the ordinary, so the people of Jerusalem might not account the demons presence. The demon threw himself into the construction, honing huge law of closures of stone and trucking them into place.Solomon was pleased with the demons work and told him so. Catch said that the work would go faster if he didnt have to work with a Djinn, so I stood by and watched as the temple rose. From time to time great stones scratch offped f rom the walls, inhibition the slaves below. While the blood ran, I could hear Catch laughing and shouting Whoops from the kick the bucket of the wall.Solomon believed these killings to be accidents, but I knew them to be murder. It was then that I realized that Solomons control over the demon was not absolute, and therefore, his control over me must have its limits as well. My first impulse was to try to escape, but if I were wrong, I knew that I would be sent back to the netherworld and all would be lost. Perhaps I could post Solomon to set me free by oblation him something he could attain only by means of with(predicate) my power to create.Solomons appetite for women was infamous. I offered to bring him the most beautiful adult female he had ever seen if he would allow me to remain on Earth. He agreed.I travel to my quarters and contemplated what consort of woman might most please the idiot king. I had seen his thousand wives and found no greens thread among their charms that revealed Solomons preferences. In the end I was left to my own creativity.I gave her jolly hair and blue eyes and skin as white and smooth as marble. She was all things that men wish of women in proboscis and mind. She was a virgin with a courtesans whapledge in the ways of pleasure. She was kind, intelligent, forgiving, and warm with humor.Solomon fell in love with the woman as soon as I presented her to him. She shines like a jewel, he said. precious stone shall be her name. He spent an hour or more just staring at her, captivated with her beauty. When finally his senses returned, he said, We will talk later of your reward, Gian Hen Gian. Then he took beautify by the hand and led her to his bedchamber.I matt-up up a strength return to me the moment I presented Jewel to the king. I was not free to escape, but for the first time I was able to leave the city without being compelled by some invisible bond to return to Solomon. I went into the leave and spent the night en joying the freedom I had gained. It was not until I returned the next morning that I realized that Solomons control over me and the demon depended upon the concentration of his will, as well as the invocations and the seal given to him by Jehovah. The woman, Jewel, had broken his will.I found Solomon in his castling weeping one moment, then screaming with rage the next. While I had been away Catch had come to Solomons bedchamber, not in the form that Solomon recognized, but in the form of a huge monster, taller than devil men and as wide as a team of horses, and the slaves could see him as well. While Solomon watched in horror, the demon snatched Jewel from the bed with a single, talonlike hand and bit her head off. Then the monster swallowed the girls body and reached for Solomon. But some force protected the king, and Solomon commanded the demon to return to his smaller form. Catch laughed in his face and skulked off to the wives quarters. with the night the palace was filled wi th the screams of terrified women. Solomon ordered his guards to lash out the demon. Catch swatted them away as if they were flies. By dawn the palace was littered with the crushed bodies of the guards. Of Solomons thousand wives only ii cardinal remained alive. Catch was gone.During the attack Solomon had called upon the power of the seal and prayed to Jehovah to drive out the demon. But the kings will was broken, and so it did no good.I sensed then that I might escape Solomons control altogether, and live free, but even the idiot king would eventually make the connection and my raft would lie in the netherworld.I bid Solomon allow me to bring Catch to justice. I knew my power to be much greater than the demons. But Solomon had only the building of the temple by which to judge my powers, and in that workout the demon appeared superior. Do what you can, he said. If you obtain the demon, you may remain on Earth.I found Catch in the great desert, wantonly slaughtering tribes o f nomads. When I surround him with my magic, he protested that he had planned to return, for he was enslaved to Solomon by the invocation and could neer really escape. He was only having a little swash with the humans, he said. To quiet him, I filled his mouth with sand for the journey back to Jerusalem.When I brought Catch to Solomon, the king commanded me to devise a punishment to torment the demon, so that the people of Jerusalem might watch him suffer. I chained Catch to a giant stone outside the palace, then I created a huge bird of prey that swooped on the demon and tore at his coloured, which grew back at once, for like the Djinn, the demon was immortal.Solomon was pleased with my work. During my absence he had regained his senses somewhat, and thereby his will. I stood before the king awaiting my reward, tactile property my powers wane as Solomons will returned.I have promised that you shall never be returned to the netherworld, and you shall not, he said. But this d emon has put me off of immortals more than somewhat, and I do not wish that you be allowed to puke free. You shall be imprisoned in a jar and cast into the sea. Should the time come when you are set free to laissez passer the Earth again, you shall have no power over the realm of man omit as is commanded by my will, which shall be from now to the end of time the goodwill of all men. By this you shall be bound.He had a jar fashioned from lead and attach it on all sides with a silver seal. forrader he imprisoned me, Solomon promised that Catch would remain chained to the rock until his screams burned into the kings soul so that Solomon might never lose his will or his wisdom again. He said he would then send the demon back to hell and destroy the tablets with the invocations, as well as the great seal. He swore these things to me, as if he believed the fertilee of the demon meant something to me. I didnt give a camels uttermostt about Catch. Then he gave me a last command an d sealed the jar. His soldiers cast the jar into the bolshy Sea.For two thousand years I hurted inside the jar, my only comfort a trickle of seawater that seeped in, which I drank with relish, for it tasted of freedom.When the jar was finally pulled from the sea by a fisherman, and I was released, I cared nothing about Solomon or Catch, only about my freedom. I have lived as a man would live these last thousand years, bound by Solomons will. Of this Solomon spoke truly, but about the demon, he lied.The little man paused and refilled his cup in the ocean. Augustus Brine was at a loss. It couldnt possibly be true. There was nothing to corroborate the tale.Begging your pardon, Gian Hen Gian, but why is none of this told in the discussion?Editing, the Djinn said.But arent you confusing Greek falsehood with Christian myth? The birds eating the demons liver laboureds an awful lot like the story of Prometheus.It was my sentiment. The Greeks were thieves, no better than Solomon.Brine considered this for a moment. He was seeing evidence of the supernatural, wasnt he? Wasnt this little Arab drinking seawater as he watched, with no apparent ill effects? And even if some of it could be explained by hallucination, he was sanely sure that he hadnt been the only one to see the strange blue swirls in the store this morning. What if for a moment just a moment he took the Arabs outrageous story for the truth?If this is true, then how do you fare, after all this time, that Solomon lied to you? And why tell me about it?Because, Augustus Brine, I knew you would believe. And I know Solomon lied because I can feel the presence of the demon, Catch. And Im sure that he has come to Pine Cove.Swell, Brine said. 7 reachVirgil Long backed out from under the hood of the Impala, wiped his hold on his coveralls, and scratched at his four-day growth of beard. He instigateed Travis of a fat weasel with the mange.So youre thinking its the radiator? Virgil asked.Its the radiator , Travis said.It might be the whole locomotive is gone. You were run pretty quiet when you drove in. non a good sign. Do you have a charge card?Virgil was unprecedented in his inability to diagnose specific engine problems. When he was dealing with tourists, his strategy was commonly to start replacing things and keep replacing them until he solved the problem or reached the limit on the customers credit card, whichever came first.It wasnt running at all when I came in, Travis protested. And I dont have a credit card. Its the radiator, I promise.Now, son, Virgil drawled, I know you think you know what youre talking about, but I got a certificate from the crossover factory there on the wall that says Im a master mechanic. Virgil pointed a fat finger toward the service sets office. One wall was cover with frame in certificates on with a poster of a nude woman sitting on the hood of a Corvette buffing her private separate with a scarf in order to sell motor oil. Virgil had pur chased the Master mechanic certificates from an outfit in New Hampshire two for five dollars, six for ten dollars, cardinal for twenty. He had gone for the twenty-dollar package. Those who took the time to read the certificates were somewhat surprised to find out that Pine Coves only service station and car wash had its own factory-certified snowmobile mechanic. It had never snowed in Pine Cove.This is a Chevy, Travis said.Got a certificate for those, too. You probably need new rings. The radiators just a symptom, like these broken headlights. You treat the symptom, the disease just gets worse. Virgil had heard that on a doctor show once and liked the wakeless of it.What will it cost to just arrange the radiator?Virgil stared deep into the grease spots on the garage floor, as if by see their patterns and by some mystic trend of divination, petrolmancy perhaps, he would arrive at a price that would not alienate the unyielding young man but would still assure him an exorbitan t hourly rate for his labor.Hundred bucks. It had a victorian round ring to it.Fine, Travis said, Fix it. When can I have it back?Virgil consulted the grease spots again, then emerged with a good-ol-boy smile. Hows noon sound?Fine, Travis said. Is there a pool hall around here and someplace I can get some breakfast?No pool hall. The Head of the keep ones nose to the grindstone is open down the street. They got a gallus of tables.And breakfast?Only thing open this end of town is H.P.s, a block off Cypress, down from the Slug. But its a locals joint.Is there a problem get served?No. The menu might put away you for a bit. It well, youll see.Travis thanked the mechanic and started off in the direction of H.P.s, the demon skulking along fanny him. As they passed the self-serve car-wash stalls, Travis noticed a tall man of about thirty unloading plastic laundry baskets full of dirty dishes from the bed of an old Ford pickup. He seemed to be having trouble get quarters to go i nto the coin box. face at him, Travis said You know, Catch, Ill bet theres a lot of incest in this town.Probably the only entertainment, the demon agreed.The man in the car wash had activated the high-pressure neb and was sweeping it back and forth across the baskets of dishes. With each sweep he repeated, cipher lives like this. Nobody.Some of the overspray caught on the wind and settled over Travis and Catch. For a moment the demon became visible in the spray. Im melt-ing, Catch whined in perfect Wicked beguile of the West pitch.Lets go, Travis said, moving quickly to avoid more spray. We need a hundred bucks before noon.JENNY In the two hours since jenny ass Masterson had arrived at the coffee shop she had managed to drop a tray full of glasses, mix up the orders on three tables, fill the saltshakers with dinero and the sugar dispensers with salt, and pour hot coffee on the hand of two customers who had covered their cups to indicate that theyd had enough a patently st upid gesture on their part, she thought. The chastise of it was not that she normally performed her duties flawlessly, which she did. The worst of it was that everyone was so damned under stand up about it.Youre sack through a rough time, honey, its okeh. dissociate is continuously hard.Their consolations ranged from too severity you couldnt work it out to he was a delusive drunk anyway, youre better off without him.Shed been marooned from Robert exactly four days and everybody in Pine Cove knew about it. And they couldnt just let it lie. Why didnt they let her go through the process without running this cloying gantlet of sympathy? It was as if she had a big red D sewed to her clothing, a signal to the townsfolk to close around her like a hungry amoeba.When the second tray of glasses hit the floor, she stood amid the shards onerous to catch her breath and could not. She had to do something scream, cry, pass out but she just stood there, paralyzed, while the busboy cle aned up the glass.Two impecunious hands closed on her shoulders. She heard a voice in her ear that seemed to come from very far away. You are having an anguish attack, dear. It shall pass. Relax and breathe deeply. She felt the hands gently leading her through the kitchen threshold to the office in the back.Sit down and put your head between your knees. She let herself be guided into a chair. Her mind went white, and her breath caught in her throat. A bony hand rubbed her back.Breathe, Jennifer. Ill not have you shambling off this mortal coil in the middle of the breakfast shift.In a moment her head cleared and she looked up to see Howard Phillips, the possessor of H.P.s, standing over her.He was a tall, skeletal man, who always wore a black suit and sack shoes that had been fashionable a hundred years ago. Except for the dark depressions on his cheeks, Howards skin was as white as a carrion worm. Robert had once said that H.P. looked like the master of ceremonies at a chemoth erapy funfest.Howard had been born and raised in Maine, yet when he spoke, he affected the accent of an conditioned Londoner. The prospect of change is a many-fanged beast, my dear. It is not, however, give up to pay fearful obeisance to that beast by cowering in the ruins of my stemware while you have orders up.Im sorry, Howard. Robert called this morning. He sounded so helpless, pathetic.A tragedy, to be sure. Yet as we sit, ensconced in our grief, two perfectly healthy daily specials languish under the heat lamps metamorphosing into gelatinous invitations to botulism. jenny ass was alleviate that in his own, cryptically capture way, Howard was not giving her sympathy but telling her to get off her ass and live her life. I think Im okay now. Thanks, Howard. jenny stood and wiped her eyes with a makeup napkin she took from her apron. Then she went off to concede her orders. Howard, having exhausted his compassion for the day, closed the door of his office and began working on the books.When jenny returned to the floor, she found that the restaurant had cleared except for a few regular customers and a dark young man she didnt recognize, who was standing by the PLEASE WAIT TO BE SEATED sign. At least he wouldnt ask about Robert, thank God. It was a welcome relief.Not many tourists found H.P.s. It was tucked in a tree-lined cul-de-sac off Cypress Street in a remodeled Victorian bungalow. The sign outside, small and tasteful, simply read, CAFE. Howard did not believe in advertising, and though he was an Anglophile at marrow loving all things British and feeling that they were somehow superior to their American counterparts his restaurant displayed none of the ersatz British decor that might draw in the tourists. The cafe served simple regimen at unclouded prices. If the menu exhibited Howard Phillipss eccentricity in style, it did not discourage the locals from eating at his place. Next to Brines Bait, Tackle, and Fine Wines, H.P.s Cafe had t he most loyal stage business in Pine Cove.Smoking or nonsmoking? Jenny asked the young man. He was very good-looking, but Jenny noticed this only in passing. She was conditioned by years of monogamy not to dwell on such things.Nonsmoking, he said.Jenny led him to a table in the back. Before he sat down, he pulled out the chair across from him, as if he were going to put his feet up.Will mortal be joining you? Jenny asked, handing him a menu. He looked up at her as if he were seeing her for the first time. He stared into her eyes without saying a word.Embarrassed, Jenny looked down. Todays special is Eggs-Sothoth a fiendishly bosomy amalgamation of scrumptious ingredients so red-hot that the mere description of the palatable gestalt could drive one mad, she said.Youre joking?No. The owner insists that we memorize the daily specials verbatim.The dark man kept staring at her. What does all that mean? he asked.Scrambled testis with ham and cheese and a side of toast.Why didnt yo u just say that?The owner is a little eccentric. He believes that his daily specials may be the only thing keeping the grey-headed Ones at bay.The Old Ones?Jenny sighed. The nice thing about regular customers is she didnt have to keep explaining Howards spiritual menu to them. This guy was obviously from out of town. But why did he have to keep staring at her like that?Its his religion or something. He believes that the world was once populated by some other race. He calls them the Old Ones. For some land they were banished from Earth, but he believes that they are trying to return and take over.Youre joking? finish saying that. Im not joking.Im sorry. He looked at the menu. Okay, give me an Eggs-Sothoth with a side order of The Spuds of Madness.Would you like coffee?That would be great.Jenny wrote out the ticket and turned to put the order in at the kitchen window.Excuse me, the man said.Jenny turned in midstep. Yes?You have incredible eyes.Thanks. She felt herself blooming as she headed off to get his coffee. She wasnt ready for this. She needed some sort of break between being married and being divorced. Divorce leave? They had pregnancy leave, didnt they?When she returned with his coffee, she looked at him for the first time as a single woman might. He was handsome, in a sharp, dark sort of way. He looked younger than she was, twenty-three, maybe twenty-four. She was studying his turn and trying to get a feel for what he did for a living when she ran into the chair he had pushed out from the table and spilled most of the coffee into the saucer.God, Im sorry.Its okay, he said. Are you having a bad day?Getting worse by the minute. Ill get you another cup.No, he raised a hand in protest. Its fine. He took the cup and saucer from her, disjunct them, and poured the coffee back into the cup. gull, good as new. I dont want to add to your bad day.He was staring again.No, youre fine. I mean, Im fine. Thanks. She felt like a geek. She cursed Robert for caus e all this. If he hadnt No, it wasnt Roberts fault. Shed made the ending to end the marriage.Im Travis. The man extended his hand. She took it, tentatively.Jennifer- She was about to tell him that she was married and that he was nice and all. Im not married, she said. She immediately wanted to meld into the kitchen and never come back.Me either, Travis said. Im new in town. He didnt seem to notice how mucilaginous she was. Look, Jennifer, Im looking for an address and I admire if you could tell me how to find it? Do you know how to get to Cheshire Street?Jenny was relieved to be talking about anything but herself. She rattled off a serial publication of streets and turns, landmarks and signs, that would lead Travis to Cheshire Street. When she finished, he just looked at her quizzically.Ill draw you a occasion, she said. She took a pen from her apron, bent over the table, and began drawing on a napkin.Their faces were inches apart. Youre very beautiful, he said.She looked at hi m. She didnt know whether to smile or scream. Not yet, she thought. Im not ready.He didnt wait for her to respond. You remind me of someone I used to know.Thank you She tried to remember his name. Travis.Have dinner with me tonight?She searched for an excuse. None came. She couldnt use the one she had used for a decade it wasnt true anymore. And she hadnt been alone long enough to brushwood up on some new lies. In fact, she felt that she was somehow being unfaithful to Robert just by talking to this guy. But she was a single woman. at long last she wrote her phone number under the map on the napkin and handed it to him.My numbers on the bottom. Why dont you call me tonight, around five, and well take it from there, okay?Travis folded the napkin and put it in his shirt pocket. Until tonight, he said.Oh, spare me a gravely voice said. Jenny turned toward the voice, but there was only the empty chair.To Travis she said, Did you hear that?Hear what? Travis glared at the empty chai r.Nothing, Jenny said, Im starting to go over the edge, I think.Relax, Travis said. I wont bite you. He shot a glance at the chair.Your order is up. Ill be right back.She retrieved the food from the window and delivered it to Travis. While he ate, she stood behind the counter separating coffee filters for the lunch shift, from time to time looking up and smiling at the dark, young man, who paused between bites and smiled back.She was fine, just fine. She was a single woman and could do any damned thing she wanted to. She could go out with anyone she wanted to. She was young and pleasing and she had just made her first date in ten years sort of.Over all of her affirmations her fears flew up and perched like a murder of crows. It occurred to her that she didnt have the slightest idea what she was going to wear. The freedom of single life had suddenly become a burden, a mixed blessing, herpes on the popes ring. mayhap she wouldnt answer the phone when he called.Travis finished eat ing and paid his bill, leaving her far too large a tip.See you tonight, he said.You bet. She smiled.She watched him walk across the position lot. He seemed to be talking to someone as he walked. Probably just singing. Guys did that right after they made a date, didnt they? Maybe he was just a whacko?For the hundredth time that morning she resisted the urge to call Robert and tell him to come home.