HE lost nine pounds (a great blessing) dur?ing the eight months they lived in the apartment. They had not been slow to criticize his toes, teeth, belly, hair, or politics. "It seems to me," Veronica had said one day, "that you have no social responsibility." "My first social responsibility," he had said, "is that the building doesnt collapse." "Right right right," she said, "but you are after all a creature of the power structure. You work for the power structure." This was true enough, revolutionaries didnt build buildings, needed only clos?ets to oil their Uzis in, no work for architects there. Oher hand Veronid the others derived their own politics from a K-Mart of sources, Thomas Aquinas marg shoulder-to-shoulder with Simone de Beauvoir and the weatherbeaten troopers of Sixty Mihey were ofte and right during the same versation, sometimes the same sentence.
His headaches had gone away but had been replaced by early-m vomiting. A few ounces of yellow bile produced each m. He meditated on too much, thought carefully about a sufficy. When the women had been living with him he had thought of himself, very often, as insuffitly virile, or insuffi?tly ambitious. Who his much excitation? Oher hand, who could resist it? Anne some?times looked like a twenty-year-old, especially when shed just bathed, the small breasts, the small hips, the dark hair. Dore was tall and bossy, there was no other word for it, and Veronica was, take your choice, sassy or critical, great lip on that kid, never without a spiked re?mark. He had the sehat he was a hotel, didnt mind being a hotel, okay Im a hotel. Two of them sug his co the early ms, taking turns, five or six oclock, he was drinking white wine, not very good white wine, and smoking, this went on for a long while, sometimes theyd turn to one another and one would begin to lick the inside of the others legs up he t, quite near, Simon with his hands on that ones buttocks, around her waist and then moving dowhe buttocks with sloreciative strokes, raking them with his nails at intervals, but softly, little bites, but softly, the flesh is so delicious Dore said, or Anne said.
"YOUVE been bad Veronica."
"No I havent thats not bad thats hardly bad at all."
"I agree with her. Youve been bad."
"No I havent I dont call that --"
"Very bad."
"I dont call that bad thats not hardly bad at all you should see what Ive seen if you want to talk about --"
"Yes Veronica yes of course of course Veronica I didnt think youd admit it why should you? Aheres no reasoning with her."
"Dore dont go I havent been bad shes just trying to tell you Ive been bad but I mean are you going to be?lieve her? Just because she says --"
"Well how do you feel?"
"Bad."
"You see."
"Oh God Dore now youve made her feel bad just talking about everything youve made her feel bad that shes done something some little something she shouldnt have done some little something that war?rants horrible trition --"
"I dont mind making her feel bad. Shes bad."
"Veronica, are you essentially what she says you are? Bad? You tell me Im your friend. I have other bad friends, if that --"
"Well spit. Thats what I think."
"Youre not going to talk is that it?"
"Hit her."
"Im not going to hit her shes a sister you t hit a sister even a bad sister thats one of the eternal rules not even a terribly, terribly bad sister. Like Veronica."
"Im about as bad