143: In the morning, . . .
Little Follies, “The Girl with the White Fur Muff,” Chapter 18
18
IN THE MORNING, Veronica called. “Peter,” she said, giggling, “I think you have something of mine.”
“Yes,” I said. “I do. They’re in my sock drawer. Do you have mine?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m wearing them.”
“What!” I exclaimed. In a hoarse and trembling whisper, I went on: “Veronica, are you crazy? What if somebody sees them?”
“Who’s going to see them?” she asked. Then there passed a period of silence. It was a significant pause, and its significance was not lost on me. Veronica said, very softly, “—unless I show them to somebody.”
“Look,” I said, quickly, “we can switch them in school on Monday.”
“You know, Peter,” said Veronica, “I really want to play Cordelia.”
“You do?” I asked.
“Oh, yes,” she said. “I really do.”
“Well—”
“I wonder what your mother would do if she knew that I was wearing your underwear?” Veronica whispered.
“Me too,” I said.
“I’ll see you in school, Peter,” said Veronica. In her huskiest voice, she added, “I can’t wait to find out who gets to play Cordelia.”
“Me too,” I said.
[to be continued on Thursday, December 2, 2021]
You can listen to this episode on the Personal History podcast.
In Topical Guide 143, Mark Dorset considers Character Traits: Artless Sincerity versus Malicious Duplicity from this episode.
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You can begin reading at the beginning or you can catch up by visiting the archive or consulting the index to the Topical Guide.
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At Apple Books you can download free eBooks of “My Mother Takes a Tumble,” “Do Clams Bite?,” “Life on the Bolotomy,” “The Static of the Spheres,” and “The Fox and the Clam,” the first five novellas in Little Follies.
You’ll find an overview of the entire work in An Introduction to The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy. It’s a pdf document.