CAROL. Whatre you fixing? VAL. Belt buckle. CAROL. Boys like you are always fixing so ething.

Coul! you fix VAL. Whats wrong with your sli""er? CAROL. Why are you "reten!ing not to re e ber VAL. #ts har! to re e ber so eone you ne$er et. e? e? y sli""er?

CAROL. %hen why! you look so startle! when you saw VAL. &i! #? CAROL. # thought for a

o ent you! run back out the !oor. ake e walk in a hurry but # !ont think its e$er e. Better? a!e e run.

VAL. %he sight of a wo an can ' (oure stan!ing in y light.

CAROL. ) o$ing asi!e slightly* Oh+ excuse VAL. %hanks, CAROL. Are you afrai! #ll snitch? VAL. &o what?

CAROL. -nitch? # woul!nt. # not a snitch. But # can "ro$e that # know you if # ha$e to. #t was /ew (ears 0$e in /ew Orleans. VAL. # nee! a s all "air of "liers , CAROL. (ou ha! on that 1acket an! a snake ring with a ruby eye. VAL. # ne$er ha! a snake ring with a ruby eye. CAROL. A snake ring with an e eral! eye? VAL. # ne$er ha! a snake ring with any kin! of an eye , )Begins to whistle softly+ his face a$erte!* CAROL. )s iling gently* %hen aybe it was a !ragon ring with an e eral! eye or a !ia on! or a ruby eye. (ou tol! us that it was a gift fro a la!y osteo"ath that you! et so ewhere in your tra$els an! that any ti e you were broke you! wire this la!y osteo"ath collect+ an! no atter how far you were or how long it was since you! seen her+ she! sen! you a oney or!er for twenty2fi$e !ollars with the sa e sweet essage each ti e. 3# lo$e you. When will you co e back?4 An! to "ro$e the story+ not that it was !ifficult to belie$e it+ you took the latest of these sweet essages fro your wallet for us to see , )-he throws back her hea! with soft laughter. 5e looks away still further an! busies hi self with the belt buckle* ' We followe! you through

fi$e "laces before we a!e contact with you an! # was the one that a!e contact. # went u" to the bar where you were stan!ing an! touche! your 1acket an! sai!+ 3What stuff is this a!e of?4 an! when you sai! it was snakeskin+ # sai!+ 3# wish you! tol! e before # touche! it.4 An! you sai! so ething not nice. (ou sai!+ 36aybe that will learn you to hol! back your han!s.4 # was !runk by that ti e+ which was after i!night. &o you re e ber what # sai! to you? # sai!+ 3What on earth can you !o on this earth but catch at whate$er co es near you+ with both your fingers+ until your fingers are broken?4 #! ne$er sai! that before+ or e$en consciously thought it+ but afterwar!s it see e! like the truest thing that y li"s ha! e$er s"oken+ what on earth can you !o but catch at whate$er co es near you with both your han!s until your fingers are broken , (ou ga$e e a 7uick+ sober look. # think you no!!e! slightly+ an! then you "icke! u" your guitar an! began to sing. After singing you "asse! the kitty. Whene$er "a"er oney was !ro""e! in the kitty you blew a whistle. 6y cousin Bertie an! # !ro""e! in fi$e !ollars+ you blew the whistle fi$e ti es an! then sat !own at our table for a !rink+ -chenleys with -e$en 8". (ou showe! us all those signatures on your guitar , Any correction so far? VAL. Why are you so anxious to "ro$e # know you? CAROL. Because # want to know you better an! better9 #! like to go out 1ooking with you tonight. VAL. Whats 1ooking? CAROL. Oh+ !ont you know what that is? %hats where you get in a car an! !rink a little an! !ri$e a little an! sto" an! !ance a little to a 1uke box an! then you !rink a little ore an! !ri$e a little ore an! sto" an! !ance a little ore to a 1uke box an! then you sto" !ancing an! you 1ust !rink an! !ri$e an! then you sto" !ri$ing an! 1ust !rink+ an! then+ finally+ you sto" !rinking , VAL. ' What !o you !o then? CAROL. %hat !e"en!s on the weather an! who youre 1ooking with. #f its a clear night you s"rea! a blanket a ong the e orial stones on Cy"ress 5ill+ which is the local bone orchar!+ but if its not a fair night+ an! this one certainly isnt+ why+ usually then you go to the #!lewil! cabins between here an! -unset on the &ixie 5ighway , VAL. ' %hats about what # figure!. But # !ont go that route. 5ea$y !rinking an! s oking the wee! an! shacking with strangers is okay for ki!s in their twenties but this is y thirtieth birth!ay an! # all through with that route. )Looks u" with !ark eyes* # not young any ore. CAROL. (oure young at thirty ' # ho"e so9 # twenty2nine9 "arty since you were fifteen9

VAL. /aw+ youre not young at thirty if you$e been on a go!!a

):icks u" his guitar an! sings an! "lays ;5ea$enly <rass;. Carol has taken a "int of bourbon fro her trench coat "ocket an! she "asses it to hi * CAROL. %hanks. %hats lo$ely. 6any ha""y returns on your birth!ay+ -nakeskin.

Carol - Orpheus descending CAROL: I used to be what they call a Christ-bitten reformer. You now what that is! - A ind of benign e"hibitionist...I deli#ered stump speeches$ wrote letters of protest about the gradual massacre of the coloured ma%ority in the country. I thought it was wrong for pellagra and slow star#ation to cut them down when the cotton crop failed from army worm or boll wee#il or too much rain in summer. I wanted to$ tried to$ put up free clinics$ I s&uandered the money my mother left me on it. And when that 'illie (c)ee thing came along * he was sent to the chair for ha#ing improper relations with a white whore * +,er #oice is li e a passionate incantation.- I made a fuss about it. I put on a potato sac and set out for the capital on foot. .his was in winter. I wal ed barefoot in this burlap sac to deli#er a personal protest to the go#ernor of the state. Oh$ I suppose it was partly e"hibitionism on my part$ but it wasn/t completely e"hibitionism0 there was something else in it$ too. You now how far I got! 1i" miles out of town * hooted$ %eered at$ e#en spit on2 - e#ery step of the way * and then arrested2 )uess what for! Lewd #agrancy2 3hhuh$ that was the charge$ 4lewd #agrancy$5 because they said that potato sac I had on was not a respectable garment...'ell$ all that was a pretty long time ago$ and now I/m not a reformer anymore. I/m %ust a 4lewd #agrant.5 And I/m showing the 41.O.6.1.5 how lewd a 4lewd #agrant5 can be if she puts her whole heart into it li e I do mine2 All right. I/#e told you my story$ the story of an e"hibitionist. 7ow I want you to do something for me. .a e me out to Cyprus ,ill in my car. And we/ll hear the dead people tal . .hey do tal there. .hey chatter together li e birds on Cyprus ,ill$ but all they say is one word and that one word is 4li#e$5 they say$ 4Li#e$ li#e$ li#e$ li#e$ li#e25 It/s all they/#e learned$ it/s the only ad#ice they can gi#e. - 8ust li#e.... +1he opens the door.- 1imple2 - a #ery simple instruction... Ruth$ .he 9ffect of )amma Rays on (an-in-the-(oon (arigolds :;aul <indel= R3.,: ,e called me out of sewing class yesterday * I remember because my blouse wasn>t all buttoned * and he wanted to now why .illie>s out of school so much. I wish you>d go bac to ?ools. I li ed ?ools better. I told him you were ill$ and he wanted to now what ind$ so I told him you had leprosy. You should ha#e seen his face. ,e was so cute. And I told him you had ringworm and gangrene. And I told him you had what (other>s last patient had...whatchamacallit! ;soriasis! Yeah. 1omething li e that. And then I told him to go loo in the history and then he>d find out. 'hene#er they go loo up the history then they don>t bother me anymore @cause they thin I>m craAy. And I told him the disease you had was fatal and there wasn>t much hope for you. .he history is %ust a little folder with the story of our li#es in it$ that>s all. I read the whole thing last term when (iss ,anley dragged me into the record room because I didn>t want to climb the ropes in gym and I told her my s ull was growing. Lower2 ,igher2 I wish you>d ma e up your mind. If you>d switch bac to ?ools it might be worth it$ but ugh2 .hese are awful. You now$ I really did thin my s ull was growing. 9ither that or a tumor. 1o she dragged me out of gym class$ and she thought I couldn>t read upside down while she was sitting opposite me with the history. 6ut I could. Oh$ it says you>re di#orced and that I went craAy...and my father too a heart attac at 1tar La e...and now you>re a widow. And it says that I e"aggerate and tell stories and that I>m afraid of death and ha#e nightmares...and all that stuff.