LOU LINED SIX COCKTAIL GLASSES along the bar and filled them from a shaker. “Okay,” he said, “now if you don’t like this drink I want you please to at least give the appearance of enjoying it. My lovely assistant Elaine will be taking some candid shots, and if you seem to be having a good time we’re going to put your mug shot up on our Wall of Tipsy Topers.” After the third round, we all looked quite merry, and I was not at all surprised when Elaine scampered upstairs, returned with a camera, and began snapping shots. I considered it a tribute.
I WAS READING, already under the quilt, when Albertine came running out of the bathroom naked and shivering, threw herself under the covers and snuggled against me.
“The taxes?” I asked.
“Skyrocketing,” she said.
“How rapid a rise is that, technically speaking?”
“Thirty-seven percent.”
“Thirty-seven percent?”
“Most of it is going into the schools,” she said. She paused, and then she added, in a version of Baldy’s voice, “It’s an investment in Babbington’s future, right, Bob?”
“Yeah,” I said.
[to be continued]
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