Part 21 (1/2)

”Guess I still have a little bit to learn,” ht She unties the policeun, in all the excitement, to revive He opens his eyes in tis jump into the sky For a while to come he will tell himself, and half believe, that what he saas the last apparition of a fading dreaoes to exa in the mirror, that he finds, on his cheek, the red butterfly imprint of her lips

14

Deasey, as they had known he would, objected to the latest bit of degeneracy from Kavalier Clay ”I can't allow this to happen to h already”

Sa anything any kid can't see at Jones Beach” was the line that they had decided on Saave it

Joe said, ”Just like at Jones Beach” He had never been to Jones Beach

The loomy, and as usual in cool weather, Deasey lay spread out on the floor like an old bearskin Now he pulled hi position, his considerable bulk shi+fting audibly on his arthritic joints

”Let me have another look,” he said

Sammy handed hin for Luna Moth, ”the first sex object,” in Jules Feiffer's memorable phrase, ”created expressly for consus of Dolores Del Bio, black witchy hair, and breasts each the size of her head Her face was long, her chin pointed, and her ht red hyphen, downturned at one corner in a saucy little sles, as if tasting the viewer's desire

The golden toothpick waggled up and down ”Your usual wasted effort, Mr Kavalier, my condolences”

”Thank you”

”That means you think it could be a hit,” said Saraphy,” said Deasey He gazed out beyond the river at the sere brown cliffs of New Jersey and allowed himself to recall a winter afternoon twelve years before, on a cool, sunny terrace overlooking Puerto Concepcion and the Sea of Cortez, when he had sat down at the keys of his portable Royal and begun work on a great and tragic novel, about the love between two brothers and a wo since abandoned, the typewriter was on his desk even now, page 232 of Death Wears a Black Sarong Death Wears a Black Sarong rolled around its platen Surely, Deasey thought, that rolled around its platen Surely, Deasey thought, that fonda, fonda, that terrace, that heartbreaking sky, that novel-they were all still there, waiting for him He had only tosky, that novel-they were all still there, waiting for him He had only to make his way back

”Mr Deasey?” said Joe

Deasey left off looking out at the expanse of sandstone sky and rusty palisade and went over to his desk He picked up the phone

”fuck it,” he said ”We'll leave it up to Anapol I have a feeling theyfor a new kind of character, anyway”

”Why's that?” Sammy said

Deasey looked at Sa he wanted to tell theht Shelly and Jack be looking for a new kind of character?”

”I never said that Let's call him Get me Mr Anapol,” he said into the phone

”What about Ashkenazy?” said Joe ”What will he say?”

Deasey said, ”Do you seriously have any doubts?”

Be a u t e e f u l ” Ashkenazy sighed ”Look at thosethose ” ”They're called knockers,” said Anapol ”Look at theht this up?” said Ashkenazy He looked at Joe with one eye while he kept the other on Luna Moth Affluence had brought with it an entire panoply of new suits, striped and checked and boldly herringboned, madly checkered three-piece numbers, each of them the color of a different variety of squash, froreen The fabrics were rich woolens and casher looked like a racetrack tout, with his chewed cigar end and his thuster with a fix in on the third at Belht this up?” said Ashkenazy He looked at Joe with one eye while he kept the other on Luna Moth Affluence had brought with it an entire panoply of new suits, striped and checked and boldly herringboned, madly checkered three-piece numbers, each of them the color of a different variety of squash, froreen The fabrics were rich woolens and casher looked like a racetrack tout, with his chewed cigar end and his thuster with a fix in on the third at Belmont ”I bet it was you, Kavalier”

Joe looked at Saether,” he said ”Sa about a moth”

”A don't beover to pat Joe on the shoulder ”He pretty ether hiic, which Joe had resumed in front of thewith Hermann Hoffman, also seemed to have played a role in her parturition It was true, however, that Sa around for a fe The addition of sex to the costumed-hero concept was a natural and, apart from a few minor efforts at other companies- the Sorceress of Zoo with ideas for a cat-woical Amazon (all of them soon to be tried elsewhere), and a lady boxer named Kid Vixen when Joe had proposed his secret tribute to the girl froe The idea of a moth-woe hit on its hands with Batman in Detective Comics, Detective Comics, and the appeal of a nocturnal character, one who derived her power froht of the moon, was evident and the appeal of a nocturnal character, one who derived her power froht of the moon, was evident

”I don't know,” said Shelly Anapol ”It makes me a little nervous” He took froers, the painting of Luna Moth, which Joe had invested with all the hopefulness and desire that Rosa, admittedly in person a somewhat less buxom creature, had stirred in him-he had worked most of the time with an erection Anapol pushed aside a letter that lay open on his desk blotter and dropped the painting there, as if it were extree breasts, boys”

”We know it, Mr Anapol,” said Sammy

”But a moth, I don't know, it's not a popular insect Why can't she be a butterfly? There ood naPearlyI don't know”

”She can't be a butterfly!'' butterfly!'' said Sammy ”She's the Mistress of the said Saht”

”That's another thing: we can't say ' fifty letters a week from priests and ministers A rabbi from Schenectady Luna Moth Luna Moth” The look of incipient nausea had co to e, you think this is a good idea?”

”Oh, it's drivel, Mr Anapol,” Deasey said brightly ”Extre yet,” he said He picked up the letter that he had pushed aside, scanned it quickly, then put it back down ”Jack?”

”They got nothing like it,” Ashkenazy said

Anapol turned to Sammy ”It's settled, then Call Pantaleone, the Glovskys, whoever you need to fill in the rest of the book What the hell, make 'em all dollies Maybe we could call it All Doll All Doll Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? All Doll All Doll That's new Is that new?” That's new Is that new?”

”I never heard of anything like it”

”Let theet the kids in here, George, and get thee on us for a change Yeah, good, get the kids in here, George, and get the by Monday”

”Here we go again,” said Sa, Mr Anapol”

Ashkenazy and Anapol looked at hilanced at Deasey, reht, hoping to find so intently, his face expressionless but pale, his forehead beaded with perspiration

”Uh-oh,” Anapol said ”Here it coram, that's first”

”That's first?” first?”

”Second is, you agree that this character, Luna Moth, is half ours Fifty percent to Eet half of the ra Othere take her, and our services, elsewhere”

Anapol half turned his head toward his partner ”You were right,” he said

”And ant raises, too,” Sa, now that the subject seemed to be open for discussion, to press it as far as he could

”Another two hundred dollars a week,” Joe said The Ark of Miria of next year At that rate, if he put away an additional two hundred a week, he would be able to underwrite four, five, perhaps half a dozen passages more than he had pro of next year At that rate, if he put away an additional two hundred a week, he would be able to underwrite four, five, perhaps half a dozen passages more than he had promised

”Two hundred dollars a week!” Anapol shouted Anapol shouted

Deasey chuckled and shook his head He seeenuinely tickled

”And, uh, yeah, the sa to have a lot otiate for eement”