Gute_9780307271068_3p_all_r1.qxp
6/3/11
5:45 PM
Ed
Page 18
King
“If you want to call that a beer, yes, thank you—I’ll have an American beer, please, served from an American can.” He got her a beer. They went outside and sat on the stoop, where they listened to waves degrade the beach and gazed at the Big Dipper. Walter admired how Diane brought her knees together to prevent stray glimpses of her panties. What great legs she had, he observed, with just the right girlish taper. “You knock a beer back fast,” he said. “I bet you had a good senior year.” “Absolutely. Tip-top, Walter.” “You went on dates, went to parties, ran around.” “I partook, yes. Indulged, shall we say. I enjoyed my year as an exchange student.” Walter—feeling like a teen-age boy again, one with the utterly transparent intention of getting his cute date drunk—went in for what remained of the half-case he’d bought that afternoon in Friday Harbor. “Partook,” he thought. “Indulged. Enjoyed. This girl’s talking about sex.” When he came back, Diane said, “Stars like this remind me of home. I used to look up at the stars quite a lot, for lack of better things to do.” “You’re a romantic, Diane, so try this out: look at that moonlight, glinting on the sea.” She did that. Then she leaned on her turned-back palms with a tilted head so as to look at the sky more comfortably. Walter almost said, “Can I kiss you, Diane?” but opted instead for, “You’re clever for your age. Incredibly mature. For someone just done with high school.” “Here,” she said. “But at home I’m below average.” “I’m sure that’s not so.” “Flattery gets you nowhere.” Walter shrugged like somebody defeated. “Changing the subject, then,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to ask. Have you overwhelmed our State Department yet with your vast English charm? Because, if not, maybe I could help you with it.” She hadn’t overwhelmed the State Department yet. “Though I’m still working on it,” she assured him. “But, please, don’t let’s talk about it.” “You’re on a little vacation up here. You don’t want to think about the real world, do you. Well, then, long live the Queen, or whatever you people say. Drink up.” And she did drink up, with her fair throat bobbing. He offered her another right away.