teeth started to chatter. âIâm having a chill,â she said.
âHold everything!â
I started upstairs to the bathroom, but ducked back for one more kiss. She wanted it too, but her lips were cold as ice.
3
U PSTAIRS I TRIED THE water. When it was hot, I left it running while I went back to Jill. She was still in the bed, shaking. I wrapped the blanket around her, knelt by the bed and lifted, and carried her up to the tub. I took off the blanket, so she was naked again, and smacked her one on the tail.
âGet in and get in quick.â
She did. She stretched out in the hot water and for a second the chattering went on. Then it stopped and she closed her eyes.
âOK?â
âYes, itâs heaven.â
âIs from this angle, no kidding.â
âAm I pretty?â
âBeautiful.â
âI want to be, for you ... Know what you looked like? From my angle? Out there just now?â
âIâll bite. What?â
âGod.â
She said it low and solemn. I didnât gag it off or make any answer. After some time, she said: âWell? You always heard that hellâs hot, but you find out that cold can be worse, especially wet cold, with a rotten guy holding a gun to your head and a crazy, screwball woman egging him on to shoot. Then a voice behind you speaks. Then a rifle goes off. And from being down in hell, youâre in heaven all at one swoop. How would he look to you, the guy that flew you up there?â
âLike he needed a shave, I bet.â
She touched my chin and said: âGod wears a beard, too. Iâm sure he does. It shows in all the pictures.â
âOK, but I couldnât tell you what would show in a picture of you. It would be against the law.â
She slapped water over the things I was talking about and asked, very innocently: âYou like them?â
âI love them.â
They were round, with the nipples all spread out in the hot water, and beautiful. She slapped along, then said: âTheyâre floating upâto you.â At last I dipped my hand in the water and cuddled one, and she whispered: âIt took you long enough.â
âI didnât have the nerve.â
âGodâs not supposed to have sex appeal, but let Him learn how to shoot and He can look awful pretty. I should have said, I was praying. All the time out there I was praying. Then when you spoke from the boatââ
âIâm not God, Iâm Dave Howell, and I know youâre getting to me.â
âThen itâs mutual.â
âHold still, I want to look at your feet.â
They were small and cute and pretty, but when I felt them she started to squeal. âStop!â she yelped. âThat tickles.â
âTheyâre not cut, that I can see.â
âThey hurt outside.â
âThat underbrush would hurt...They may be bruised a bit, but theyâre not cut.â
âOK.â
She sat up, cut the water, soaped under her arms, sloshed herself, then came back to the subject of Mom: âDave, why would she? Egg him on to fire that gun? She didnât even know me. Why would she want me killed?â
âYou must have misunderstood her. Sheâs mountain. Weâre a peculiar bunch. We always say it opposite.â
âListen, maybe I could misunderstand her, but not my belly. My belly knows what she meant. But why?â
I didnât have any answer to that. The way Mom had acted had also baffled me. I said âLetâs forget itâ or something like that and tried to get back to us.
She said: âOK, but you better be going down. She could come any time, and better you not be up here.â
âOK. Kiss me.â
She kissed me very solemnly put pulled back all of a sudden. âWhy hasnât she come?â she asked. âWhatâs she doing out there?â
âWhatâs it to us what sheâs doing?â
But Jill kept staring at me. Then at