NORMAN MAILER
611
"What stands out is how spoiled you are," said her fiance.
"How could I not be? I'm an only child," said Kittredge. "Aren't
you?" she went on to ask.
"By half," I said, and when no one responded, I felt obliged to
give a summary explanation.
She appeared to be fascinated. "You must be full," she said, "of
what I call ghost-overlays." She held up a marvelous white hand as if she
were playing traffic cop in a skit at a charity ball. "But I promised ev–
erybody I would not theorize this weekend. Some people drink too
much. I never stop theorizing. Do you think it's a disease, Hugh?"
"Preferable to drink," he offered.
''I'll tell you about ghost-overlays when we're alone, " she declared
to me in front of him.
I winced within. Hugh Montague was possessive. If she smiled
nicely at me, he saw the end of their romance in her smile. Ultimately,
he was right - it is just that lovers condense
all
schedules. What would
take us more than fifteen years looked like immediate danger.
On the other hand, he was bored. Carrying on a conversation with
Rodman and Maisie Gardiner was equal to taking dinner in a room
where light bulbs keep going off and on. Most of the time we talked as
if there were rules against logical connection. During drinks I kept track
of a few remarks. Ten statements were uttered over ten minutes. Three
belonged to Dr. Gardiner, two were by Maisie, three by Harlot, one
from Kittredge, one from me. There are limits to memory. I offer a rea–
sonable substitute.
Rodman Knowles Gardiner: "I've got Freddy Eaves at the boat
yard looking out for a new spinnaker."
Maisie: "Why do the royal purple zinnias slip into blight so much
more readily than the cosmos zinnias?"
Hugh Montague: "There was word of a major avalanche yesterday
in
the Pyrenees."
Kittredge: "If you would give the purple zinnias a bit less mulch,
Mother ..."
Maisie: "Is Gilley Butler a reliable handyman, Mr. Hubbard? Your
father, Cal Hubbard, says to watch out for him."
Myself: "I should listen to my father."
Montague: "They weren't carrying avalanche cords so the bodies
are not recoverable."
Dr. Gardiner: "The spinnaker ripped in the Backside Regatta. 1 had
to finish with a jenny. Half as much headway."
Montague: "Three cheers for making the honor roll again, Harry."
Dr. Gardiner: "I'm going to
fill
the martini shaker."
Kittredge and I had, nonetheless, one hour alone. She demanded it.
