She set his hand back down in his lap after the cigarette was lit and tipped her head back to blow a plume of smoke toward the ceiling, STILL NOT LETTING HER EYES LEAVE HIS, and then lowered her head back down and waited, still locked in his gaze.She set his hand back down in his lap after the cigarette was lit and tipped her head back to blow a plume of smoke toward the ceiling, STILL NOT LETTING HER EYES LEAVE HIS, and then lowered her head back down and waited, still locked in his gaze. "I'm called Paul by most people, but to a very few, I have anoth- er name that precedes that one, Linda --- a VERY VERY VERY FEW!" he said in a low husky voice. "I see" --- replied Linda --- "and do you mind if I call you `Paul', --- Paul?" "Linda --- for now, let's not worry about names --- BUT, YES, --- I THINK --- EVENTUALLY --- YOU --- MORE THAN I WILL BE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT 'WHAT' I AM CALLED AND WHEN --- but, as I said --- it doesn't matter right now." --- "DOES IT?" She looked into his eyes and answered him without saying a word and he said --- "I knew you'd understand me." And she nodded ever so slightly to make doubly sure he knew she was `on board'. Eventually, they did get around to talking a little and she found out he was married, had two kids, owned his own business and came in the lounge, `occasionally', after he left work, to unwind. Linda acknowledged that she was married and had an eight year old daughter and that she was dancing to try and get the family back on their financial feet while her husband started back to work after a long winter of being laid off in the construction indus- try as a structural iron worker. She told him Johnny was working on the ICIC Building downtown bossing a raising gang. About that time, John walked up to her, bent over, whispered in her ear, and then turned around and walked away. |