【时间旅行者的妻子】31

The T-shirt is warm empty cloth in my hands. I sigh, and walk upstairs to ponder the mummies for a while by myself. My young self will be home now, climbing into bed. I remember, I remember. I woke up in the morning and it was all a wonderful dream.

【时间旅行者的妻子】30

Okay, heres your cookie. And I get one for being right. But we have to save them til were done looking at the book; we wouldnt want to get crumbs all over the bluebirds, right? Right! He sets the Oreo on the arm of the chair and we begin again at the

【时间旅行者的妻子】29

At last, my companion is suitably impressed. Howd you do that? Its not that hard. Ill teach you another time. Entree! I hold open the door and he walks in. I flip on the lights and the Reading Room springs into being; heavy wooden tables and chairs,

【时间旅行者的妻子】43

My hand is in her purse, shes flustered, she has dark eyes and long hair, large breasts, shes still trying to lose the weight she gained having the kid. I catch her eye as I find her wallet, still apologizing, the wallet goes up my jacket sleeve, I l

【时间旅行者的妻子】42

We enter the European Galleries and make our way backward from the seventeenth-century Netherlands to fifteenth-century Spain. St. George stands poised, as always, ready to transfix his dragon with his delicate spear while the pink and green princess

【时间旅行者的妻子】11

I made you some pretty weird meals over the years. Peanut butter and anchovy sandwiches. Pate and beets on Ritz crackers. I think partly I wanted to see if there was anything you wouldnt eat and partly I was trying to impress you with my culinary wiz

【时间旅行者的妻子】28

When I flick on the lights there are pumpkin-sized rocks all over the floor, whole and halved, craggy on the outside and streaked with veins of metal inside. Ooh, look, Henry. Meteorites. Whats meteorites? Rocks that fall from outer space. He looks a

【时间旅行者的妻子】27

It makes it more multi-sensory. I offer him the package of Oreos. He hesitates, unsure if its all right, hungry but unsure how many he can take without being rude. Take as many as you want. Ive already eaten ten, so you have some catching up to do. H

【时间旅行者的妻子】26

Im mostly sober now, and reasonably alert. Time passes, nothing happens. At last: I hear a soft thud, a gasp. Silence. I wait. I stand up, silently, and pad into the Hall, walking slowly through the light that slants across the marble floor. I stand

【时间旅行者的妻子】25

The great elephants loom menacingly over me in the moonlight and I wave to them on my way to the little gift shop to the right of the main entrance. I circle the wares and find a few promising items: an ornamental letter opener, a metal bookmark with

【时间旅行者的妻子】24

Saturday, January 2, 1988, 4:03 a.m. /Sunday, June 16, 1968, 10:46 p.m. (Henry is 24, and 5) HENRY: Its 4:03 a.m. on a supremely cold January morning and Im just getting home. Ive been out dancing and Im only half drunk but utterly exhausted. As I fu

【时间旅行者的妻子】23

We ate. Everyone sang Happy Birthday and I blew out the candles. I dont remember what I wished for. I was allowed to stay up later than usual, because I was still excited by all the things wed seen, and because I had slept so late in the afternoon. I

【时间旅行者的妻子】21

I sat on the landing and hatched the light come up. A family of ducks came swimming by, and a raccoon appeared on the landing across the river and looked at me curiously before washing its breakfast and eating it. I may have fallen asleep. I heard Mo

【时间旅行者的妻子】20

I roll over onto my back and Henry props his head on his hand and looks down at me. Our faces are about six inches apart. Its so strange to be talking, almost like we always did, but the physical proximity makes it hard for me to concentrate. Did I t

【时间旅行者的妻子】19

and see that its only 6:30. Im too restless to get back into bed. I walk into the kitchenette in search of coffee. All the counters and the stove are covered with stacks of dishes, magazines, and other reading material. Theres even a sock in the sink

【时间旅行者的妻子】18

I wake up and I dont know where I am. An unfamiliar ceiling. Distant traffic noises. Bookshelves. A blue armchair with my velvet dress slung across it and a mans tie draped over the dress. Then I remember. I turn my head and theres Henry. So simple,

【时间旅行者的妻子】17

Why Poor Henry? Im overcome with happiness. And its true. Oh, Ive been dropping all these surprises on you like big rocks. Clare swings a leg over me so shes sitting exactly on top of my cock. It concentrates my attention wonderfully. Dont move, I sa

【时间旅行者的妻子】16

Clare counts. I race around picking underwear and socks from the floor, collecting spoons and coffee cups from various horizontal surfaces and chucking them into the kitchen sink. As she says Nine hundred and sixty-seven, I remove the tie from her ey

【时间旅行者的妻子】15

You? Roscoe Village, on Hoyne. But I have a roommate. If you come up to my place you have to close your eyes and count to one thousand. Perhaps you have a very uninquisitive deaf roommate? No such luck. I never bring anyone over; Charisse would pounc

【时间旅行者的妻子】14

They divorced two years after they moved in and sold the house. Posh house. My family is posh. Theyre very weird about it, too. Brothers and sisters? Mark is twenty-two and finishing pre-law at Harvard. Alicia is seventeen and a senior in high school