They were a medium-sized, rather nondescript couple. His main claim to
distinction was the fact that nine or ten long coarse black hairs grew
out of the very tip of his nose; and the only things outstanding about
her were that her eyes did not seem to focus correctly or in unison,
and that she had extremely broad, well-padded hips.
The night they first rented the cabin, they were arguing about her
figure while he signed the registration card. "I tell you I've lost ten
pounds," she crackled.
"Yeah?" he asked, casting a skeptical glance over her. "Where?"
"If I knew where I lost it, it wouldn't be lost, would it?" she
snapped. "At least that's what you always say when you've lost
something."
He chortled while he finished filling out the registration card.
"Witty, ain't she?" he asked me. Reflectively he pulled the hairs on
the end of his nose while he searched his memory for his license
number. "She ain't much to look at, but she's smart, and she's got a
well-rounded personality." He laid the pen down and smacked her hard,
in the region of her lower back. "And that ain't all she's got that's
well-rounded, bless her heart!" he roared.
I wondered if she was going to let him get away with that. I should
have known that, being a woman, she'd have the last public word. She
did, and it was rather a subtle last word. "My attitude toward you,"
she said icily as they went out the door, "is that of nature toward a
vacuum."
I caught up to them now as they were opening the door of the cafe.
"You're certainly developing a beautiful head of skin," Mrs. D'Aura was
saying scathingly to her husband just as I joined them.
"Bless her heart, she's clever, ain't she?" Mr. D'Aura asked me as we
went in.
The air inside the restaurant was heavy with smoke and loud, hilarious
conversation. Every available seat in the dining room and around the
shining black counter was occupied by a thirsty, voracious human being;
food and beer and wine were disappearing at such alarming rates that I
wondered if the new owner wasn't regretting his impulse to throw an
impromptu party.
I saw him standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen, beaming and
genial, slapping waitresses and guests alike in hospitable good
fellowship. His stance and expression proclaimed him to be the new
owner, and he seemed to be having as good a time as any of his noisy
guests. His plump face was red and his small eyes were shining. He saw
me staring at him, and he waved at me over the sea of guzzling heads as
though we were old friends.
Two men, making vulgar noises of satisfaction, left the restaurant,
vacating two rickety chairs that were near the door. Mr. and Mrs.
D'Aura slipped into the empty chairs and began to quarrel in low,
intense voices.
There were no other empty seats, and more people kept crowding in
behind me all the time. Having satisfied my curiosity as to what was
going on, I decided to leave.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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