Part 31 (1/2)
They had been somewhat out of sorts since Geode's return from the rounds. He had taken a shower, and she had hesitated to join him, because he really needed to ask her to do it, and he didn't think of it, or couldn't develop the initiative. She had to encourage him to be more aggressive, establis.h.i.+ng the principle, so that he would be able to apply it to s.e.x.
But now, fearful that things were not going right, she risked an initiative. ”There is something I should tell you, that perhaps will help.”
”That you fear I'll die?”
”That too. I-none must die. That is why I didn't want you to love me, because it would only hurt you. But I am not just none. I am all of them. I can be another. I can be Jade, the way others think of me, but this time truly. Jade doesn't have to die.”
”I don't want any of you to die!” he exclaimed. ”You are all I ever had!”
”I am me, no matter what my name. If you can accept Jade-”
”Yes!”
”But Jade is mousy, not a child, not lovely, just a thirty-five-year-old housewife n.o.body notices.”
”I don't need a child or a lovely woman. Just one who cares for me.”
”Are you sure? Jade has no artifice.”
”I saw Nymph by the pole barn. She told me to lie down and take off my clothes, but I wouldn't.”
”You wouldn't?”
”She wasn't you. You're here.”
”She's here too.”
”She said I'd be sorry when she was dead.”
”Yes, she betrayed Mad, and she has to die.”
”But Jade doesn't. I'll take Jade.”
”Then you will have Jade-until you tire of her.” She left him, going up to her room. There she changed into the drabbest of the available dresses, tied up her hair somewhat messily, and relaxed her tummy. She had thought she never wanted to a.s.sume this role again, but if Geode could accept it, and it allowed her to live- She went back down. Geode looked at her, and looked again, surprised.
”Are you sure you want this?” she asked.
”I-I don't know you,” he said, confused.
”Nor should you want to. I'll change back.”
”No! Give me time! I'm not used to this.”
”Time we have, this way. The problem is, the time is no fun. Mundane things never are.”
”Can you still tell stories?”
”That I can do, yes.”
He smiled. ”Tonight, in the dark.”
”Tonight, in the dark,” she agreed. Could it actually work? She hardly dared hope. Jade, after all, was the least of her, of interest to none. How could Jade accomplish what Nymph or none could not?
Then she had another notion. ”Maybe I should tell you about Chloe.”
”Chloe?”
”Tonight.”
Chloe was a rather ordinary woman. She was not beautiful, and she had no wealth, and her talents were mediocre. No man worth his salt had ever given her a second glance. But a circ.u.mstance caused her to become the recipient of a single remarkable gift, and that gift changed not only her life but the world.
Acme Korn Pops, a new breakfast cereal by Emptie Calorie Inc., staged a publicity stunt. They selected a woman with a secret, and three leading male artisans of the day. Each would be allowed one date with her, during which he would try to fathom her secret, which she was pledged not to reveal to any. Each would present her with a token of their a.s.sociation. The one who succeeded in learning her secret would win a prize of one million dollars, tax-free. The winner would be announced at a great televised presentation.
Emptie Calorie put on a ma.s.sive promotional campaign. Any consumer could partic.i.p.ate by sending in a Korn Pop star from a package. With the star went a guess: what was the woman's secret? Whoever guessed it correctly would receive a share in a second million-dollar prize, divided evenly among all those who had it right.
There were three key hints for the avid public: televised synopses of the three dates. For concealed cameras recorded each date, especially the dialogue, so that whatever was said could be a.n.a.lyzed for clues. The dates themselves were conducted privately, but both parties knew that they would in due course become public, so they were decorous. It was agreed that nothing would be said off-camera; the two were bound to silence in those moments when recording was not feasible. Thus the full context of the secret was available to all.
The woman was Chloe, and she had agreed to do this in exchange for the realization of her impossible dream: to date the three men she admired most. Each was outstanding in his field, and single: an eligible bachelor. This made for excellent press, which was why the sponsor had agreed to do it. Every ordinary woman could fancy herself on one of the dates with a wonderful man, and every man could think of himself winning a million dollars by truly understanding the woman he dated.
If this stunt succeeded in making Acme Korn Pops a top-selling brand, there could be a sequel contest: an ordinary man with three fantastic dates with starlets, each of whom would exert her utmost wiles in her effort to fathom his secret. That was a notion to conjure with!
But first this more subdued edition, because the primary grocery shoppers were women. Emptie Calorie wanted to attract their specific attention, knowing full well that while males might get excited about potential dates with starlets, they seldom bought cereal on their own, and women were unlikely to buy Korn Pops merely to facilitate their men's interest in other women. Only when the product's ident.i.ty was established could male-related publicity a.s.sist it significantly.
So Chloe went on her date with the first great man. He was Baird, a popular singer whose voice was reckoned by specialty magazines as the most evocative of the day. He could make young girls faint with ecstasy by sustaining a single note. He was not really handsome, but he was young and vibrant and possessed of a compelling personal magnetism. It was not surprising that Chloe had chosen him as one of her great dates; there were tens of thousands of young women who would have done the same.
Baird was extraordinarily attentive. He took her to an extremely ”in” restaurant and treated her to a remarkable and expensive meal. He could afford it: Emptie Calorie was picking up the tab. Chloe had little notion of what she was eating; the names were in French, and the dishes were so fancy she was hardly sure where the food began and the accoutrements left off. She fumbled it in places, as when she tasted the vichyssoise and exclaimed ”Cold potato soup!” The waiter seemed about to sn.i.g.g.e.r, but Baird cast a steely glance at him. ”You have a problem with that, hash-slinger?” The waiter hastily backed away. When that episode was broadcast, there was a rash of orders for ”Cold Potato Soup, Hash-Slinger!” with which the waiters had to bear.
They went to a concert by Baird's group, performing without him. Then he stepped out from the audience, took the stage, and sang the most evocative number directly to his date. Chloe flushed, and four hundred attractive young women in the audience turned their envious gaze on her. Who was this seemingly ordinary woman their heartthrob was dating? None of them knew that this was for a publicity stunt, but they were even more jealous when they learned it later.
He danced with her, and young women thronged to cut in, but he shook his head. ”She is mine alone, and I am hers alone, tonight,” he explained. She did not know the modern dances, but he obliged her with the garden-variety waltz while his group swung into The Blue Danube and he held her close but gently. It was an aspect of her dream, come all too true.
He took her to his suite at the local hotel, and here he barred the cameras. ”No talking in here, I promise,” he promised with a suggestive smile that made Chloe flush again.
Inside he offered her a drink, but she declined. ”I want to remember this perfectly,” she explained.
”I promised not to talk,” he said. ”I lied. Chloe, I don't expect you to believe this, but I have fallen in love with you.”
She had to smile. ”Yes, I don't believe you, but thanks for saying it.”
”I am required to give you a token of this occasion,” he said. ”I will do so, but I would like something in exchange.”
”I can't tell you my secret!” she protested, hurt.
”To h.e.l.l with that!” he exclaimed. ”I'm not after your secret. I haven't guessed it, and won't try. One of the others is welcome to the million dollars; I don't need it anyway. I will make you the greatest love song my group can devise: that's my token for you. But in exchange I want your love.”
She stared at him, afraid this was some cruel joke.