other.
âEx, yes,â Eric said. He was tiring of Kimberly already.
âOh, Eric, thereâs a part of us that is still alive, donât you feel it?â
âDo you really want to do this here, now?â
âCertainly,â Kimberly said and sidled up to him. She actually sidled.
They were in a bedroom in a strange house. In the other room Jimbo and Aileen were laughing in loud snorts.
Kimberly sat on the edge of the strangersâ bed. She crossed her still beautiful legs.
âFirst, and this is just first, not having anything to do with how movies are made, first, you dumped me without rhyme or reason. Many, many years ago, you dumped me.â
âEric, sit here,â Kimberly patted the bed as if calling a dog.
Eric reluctantly sat.
âI had my reasons. Donât think it was easy for me.â
âOk. Letâs have them. You could have given them to me years ago and I wouldnât have had to live with this hole in my life, a hole of uncertainty that spreads like a stainââ
âYou say the prettiest things.â
âSo, that hole, forget that hole. Now you wanna talk to me. Now that I have returned. Now that I am making a movie, a movie, it does not escape me, that you would like to have a part in.â
Eric was almost too weary to form the words.
He picked an Ativan out of the small quantity he kept in his pocket and fisted it into his mouth, surreptitiously, bringing a small amount of lint up, too.
âSo, you think I only want a part.â
âYes. That is what I think.â
âOh, hmp.â
âYes, there it is.â
âYou poor sweet thing. You know I donât think a weekâs gone by that I havenât thought about you.â
âI find that incredible, Kim. I find that without merit.â
âOh, Babe.â
âDonât call me Babe.â
âI always, I alwaysââ
âI know. Itâs dead. The name is as dead as Carole Lombard.â
âWhy Carole Lombard?â
âI donât know, sheâs always seemed deader than most other stars, perhaps because she died so long ago, at such a young age. Partly because I wish I had known her.â
âOh, Baâsorry, Ericâlisten. I think we need to hash this out. If weâre gonna work together.â
âI donâtââ
âThereâs a fucking water bed in this other room. Did you see this?â Jimbo was in the doorway.
âHuhââ Eric said, rising.
âOh, sorryââ
âWeâre just aboutââ
âDid you two want this room, that is, do you want us to ride around some?â
âJimbo. I think weâve seen enough here.â
âOhâokâyou like this one?â
âItâs ok. Letâs see something else. This room is right but I donât like that patio. It looks like something from an Elvis movie.â
6.
The quartet stopped at Houstonâs for lunch. Jimboâs choice. Aileen knew the cook there. It was a dreadful place full of loud diners all dressed in chic casual and all forking oversize portions into their prattling gobs while their wilding children spat food into the aisles and the waitpeople sang and bopped and skipped and the muzak was all Golden Oldies done by soulless muzak bands. Eric thought it was how Hollywood phony culture had become mainstream Americana. He felt dead, dead.
They shared a pitcher, of which Jimbo drank a full half before ordering another.
âSo, Scout, what do you think of Atticus, here?â Jimbo asked Kimberly.
âWouldnât that work better if you said Scout and Jim? I mean, Eric is not her father, nor even a father figure.â Aileen smiled at her husband.
âWhatever,â he answered her with a sour twist to his mouth.
âItâs great to have him back. And to see yâall, too,â Kimberly said, smiling her Beauty Queen smile.
âItâs been a long time,â