butter! Rancid diesel oil would be more like it. Wonder what that would taste like."
"I didn't feel like a fried egg. I felt like Tou-sha-pou—you know, one of those Chinese steamed dumplings, those sickly sweet ones, filled with hot mashed prunes."
We were all laughing now. "Well, all I can is, thank God we had our game to play," Zena said. "That was a truly capital round we had in that little car, stifling and gemutlich as it was."
"Capital, because you won," Manny pointed out.
"I like games too," I said. "Maybe we could play sometime."
I was impressed and a little awed by their easy, high-spirited banter. They could even have fun being stuck in a traffic jam. They seemed exotic, as though English was not their native language. And strangely enough, they really did seem interested in me. Maybe the second week of this vacation would be better than the first.
"This tide chart seems to be closely accurate, as far as you can tell?" Joe asked me.
"Yes," I said. "The tides are very extreme here, actually."
"Are they?" Joe asked me. "How so?"
"Well, at low tide, there's some areas where you ean walk and walk and walk, and the water hardly jSver gets past your waist."
"Do you know quite where?" They all seemed Interested.
"Sure. I could show you. Tomorrow, maybe." I shrugged, and laughed self-consciously. "I don't have a real heavy schedule here."
"We could make it a charming little expedition," Zena said.
"Yes. Studying all the biota of this enchanting region," Manny said.
"Is this your first time in New England?" I asked them.
"Uh . . . yes," Zena said.
"You must be from California then, right?" I went on. "Or Florida?" They didn't answer. "I mean . . . you're so tanned."
"We travel a lot. We absorb the sun," Zena said.
"You don't have to work?" I asked.
"Curious fellow, isn't he," Joe said, putting a hand to his dark mustache.
"Our occupation gives us ample time to travel and explore," Zena explained, smiling. But there was a touch of impatience in her voice.
"Well, I'm pretty much of an expert on this whole coast," I said. "I could show you lots of things."
"That's pleasant," Joe said. "Barney? That's your name, right? Do there appear to be a lot of fishing boats in this immediate vicinity? Commercial or otherwise?"
"Sometimes they come around the island," I told him. "Ted has a cabin cruiser."
"How about excursion vessels, sightseers?"
"They don't come right around here." I was glad to be able to tell them so much. My familiarity with the area, limited as it was, might give them a reason for wanting to spend some time with me. "But there are several excursion boats out of Dunstable. Whale watches and dolphin watches and things. Would you like to go some day?"
"Love to," Manny said, with a funny little smile. "Joe adores dolphins. Don't you, Joe?"
"Yes. And octopi, too," Joe said.
Zena put her hand over her mouth and giggled like a little girl.
"They do any octopus fishing around here?" Joe went on, grinning at Manny now. "They do in some Greek settlements, I know. Remember Greece, Manny?"
"Oh, the way they bashed their poor little heads against the rocks, and left them out in the sun to dry!" Manny cried, rolling his eyes, "A sight I shall never forget!"
They were all laughing again. I didn't understand their secret joke, but I was amused by the way they were enjoying it. The enthusiasm with which they approached almost everything—especially their precious game—was appealing. They were younger and more playful than any adults I knew. And the amazing thing was, they continued to seem interested in me, and everything I had to say, asking lots of questions. They seemed fascinated by what I said about our house, absorbed and curiously motionless while I told them the story about the captain and his brother. I answered in detail their question about the layout of the house and spent a lot of time describing the front bedroom, where I had been sleeping for the past week.
"Still, as nice as the
"I didn't feel like a fried egg. I felt like Tou-sha-pou—you know, one of those Chinese steamed dumplings, those sickly sweet ones, filled with hot mashed prunes."
We were all laughing now. "Well, all I can is, thank God we had our game to play," Zena said. "That was a truly capital round we had in that little car, stifling and gemutlich as it was."
"Capital, because you won," Manny pointed out.
"I like games too," I said. "Maybe we could play sometime."
I was impressed and a little awed by their easy, high-spirited banter. They could even have fun being stuck in a traffic jam. They seemed exotic, as though English was not their native language. And strangely enough, they really did seem interested in me. Maybe the second week of this vacation would be better than the first.
"This tide chart seems to be closely accurate, as far as you can tell?" Joe asked me.
"Yes," I said. "The tides are very extreme here, actually."
"Are they?" Joe asked me. "How so?"
"Well, at low tide, there's some areas where you ean walk and walk and walk, and the water hardly jSver gets past your waist."
"Do you know quite where?" They all seemed Interested.
"Sure. I could show you. Tomorrow, maybe." I shrugged, and laughed self-consciously. "I don't have a real heavy schedule here."
"We could make it a charming little expedition," Zena said.
"Yes. Studying all the biota of this enchanting region," Manny said.
"Is this your first time in New England?" I asked them.
"Uh . . . yes," Zena said.
"You must be from California then, right?" I went on. "Or Florida?" They didn't answer. "I mean . . . you're so tanned."
"We travel a lot. We absorb the sun," Zena said.
"You don't have to work?" I asked.
"Curious fellow, isn't he," Joe said, putting a hand to his dark mustache.
"Our occupation gives us ample time to travel and explore," Zena explained, smiling. But there was a touch of impatience in her voice.
"Well, I'm pretty much of an expert on this whole coast," I said. "I could show you lots of things."
"That's pleasant," Joe said. "Barney? That's your name, right? Do there appear to be a lot of fishing boats in this immediate vicinity? Commercial or otherwise?"
"Sometimes they come around the island," I told him. "Ted has a cabin cruiser."
"How about excursion vessels, sightseers?"
"They don't come right around here." I was glad to be able to tell them so much. My familiarity with the area, limited as it was, might give them a reason for wanting to spend some time with me. "But there are several excursion boats out of Dunstable. Whale watches and dolphin watches and things. Would you like to go some day?"
"Love to," Manny said, with a funny little smile. "Joe adores dolphins. Don't you, Joe?"
"Yes. And octopi, too," Joe said.
Zena put her hand over her mouth and giggled like a little girl.
"They do any octopus fishing around here?" Joe went on, grinning at Manny now. "They do in some Greek settlements, I know. Remember Greece, Manny?"
"Oh, the way they bashed their poor little heads against the rocks, and left them out in the sun to dry!" Manny cried, rolling his eyes, "A sight I shall never forget!"
They were all laughing again. I didn't understand their secret joke, but I was amused by the way they were enjoying it. The enthusiasm with which they approached almost everything—especially their precious game—was appealing. They were younger and more playful than any adults I knew. And the amazing thing was, they continued to seem interested in me, and everything I had to say, asking lots of questions. They seemed fascinated by what I said about our house, absorbed and curiously motionless while I told them the story about the captain and his brother. I answered in detail their question about the layout of the house and spent a lot of time describing the front bedroom, where I had been sleeping for the past week.
"Still, as nice as the
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