749: “Let me start . . .”
What a Piece of Work I Am, Chapter 50 concludes
“LET ME START this way,” she said. “Let me start out with unpacking, and wondering about whether I’ve made a mistake and all, and then I’ll throw myself on the bed and call out to you, and you’ll come in and persuade me to stay—you beg me to stay, like this, just like this, and I’ll let you talk me into going through with it.”
“But it’s supposed to be spontaneous,” he said. “It’s not supposed to be a play. It’s supposed to be a life.”
“Who’s going to know?”
“You mean besides you and me?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that’s an interesting question. I think that people can tell the difference between life and a representation of it—”
“Oh, bullshit. Look: if you want me to do this, you’ve got to let me start out with something where I know what I’m doing—or I’m liable to pee in my pants and run out that door.”
“But that’s what it’s about. You see if you—”
From the back of the hall, they heard one of the stadium seats creak as someone lowered it from its upright position. Then it banged into place. There was the sound of shushing. Someone said something indistinct, and then another voice said, clearly enough for them to make out, “It just started.”
The first voice, the voice of the vegetable man, said, “Well, I’ll bring Mother in, then.”
Ariane was on display; Ariane was underway.
[to be continued]
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