How I Spent My Summer Vacation Read Online Free

small bills!” She flopped onto her back and looked up to me, and then in a world-weary voice said, “Rich men are the worst, aren’t they?”
    I went down the staircase and helped her up, brushing sand off her clothing, which was purely symbolic, given her residence. “Are you all right?” I asked.
    “I’m Georgette.”
    I wondered if that was supposed to be an answer to my question. “And I’m Mandy,” I said. “Pleased to meet you.”
    Suddenly serious, she looked me directly in the eye. “Yes,” she said. “I was once like you. I had curtains at my windows, too.”
    * * *
    Sasha was not yet in the bar, but before I went up to retrieve her and money for the sandwoman, I detoured to the ladies’ room to, among other things, wash the grit off my hands.
    I couldn’t stop thinking about Georgette, which is probably why I almost plowed into a nervous-looking, fussily dressed senior citizen blocking my exit. I hesitated, expecting her to move in one direction or the other, as in the normal order of business. She didn’t. “Are you leaving?” I finally asked.
    “What?”
    “Leaving.” I amplified my voice. “The door’s behind you. May I use it?” I sounded stupid and she looked fuddled. “Are you all right?”
    “All right. Am I all right?” She tilted her head, the better to consider the issue. Her hair was baby-chick yellow, sculpted into curls that didn’t budge as she moved. “Don’t trouble yourself on my account, dearie. You young people have lives of your own. I’ll be fine.”
    Definitely off kilter and none of my business. I reached around her for the door handle.
    “That is,” she said, “I hope I’ll be fine.”
    I took a deep breath. I had already had my peculiar-old-lady fix for the day. I had people to see, vacations to create. “What do you mean, you hope ?” I asked, my big mouth once again working independently of my brain.
    “If you insist.” She folded her arms across her commodious bosom and launched into her spiel with so much gusto, I knew that I was the unfortunate fly this spider lady had been awaiting. “I’m being harassed.” She leaned closer and whispered, “Sexually, like that sweet girl with the judge on the TV.”
    “Anita Hill? What are you talking about?”
    “Why? You think she lied?”
    “No—I just don’t see what any of this has to do with blocking the door. Or with me.”
    “Honey,” she said, “my boundaries are being violated . Just like they say on Sally Jessy Raphael.”
    “Sounds painful, but I’m supposed to meet my friend, so—”
    “You have a heart of stone or you don’t believe me? Which one? You think I’m too old? He’s too old? You ever hear the expression ‘dirty old man’? Or do you think men improve with age, like wine?”
    I took a deep breath. “If you have a problem, report it to one of the guards, or the management, or the police.”
    “Nobody can touch him. He’s beyond the law.”
    “I’m sure that’s not so, miss.”
    “Mrs. Rudy…” The last name sounded like Smirtz . She wiped her eyes and moved on. “My late husband, may he rest in peace, was a good man. Lala. Call me Lala.”
    “That’s quite an unusual name.”
    “A family nickname. My grandmother’s and aunt’s, too. We’re all really named Henrietta. Lala is short for lalapalooza.” She leaned closer to me again. “Tommy is beyond the law. Nobody would dare touch him. He nuzzles my neck and says I have heroic bosoms like a Valkyrie. He says my ankles make him weep with pleasure. But me? I’m finished with men since my Rudy passed. Tommy says he loves my spirit, that he’s a romantic and he’ll never give up. He comes down on the bus with me and goes back with me, too. Tries dirty things as we ride.”
    “Why don’t you flat out tell him to get lost?”
    “I’m afraid. He’s connected, you know what I mean? I can’t enjoy my life. I can’t enjoy the casino. What kind of woman does he think I am?”
    “Look, I have to leave.