Nora's late-morning round-table at the shelter for battered1 women ended badly when Claudia, a casual friend at best, blurted2 out randomly3, "So, Nora, no Christmas Eve bash this year?"
Of the eight women present, including Nora, exactly five had been invited to her Christmas parties in the past. Three had not, and at the moment those three looked for a hole to crawl into, as did Nora.
You crude little snot, thought Nora, but she managed to say quickly, "Afraid not. We're taking a year off." To which she wanted to add, "And if we ever have another party, Claudia dear, don't hold your breath waiting for an invitation."
"I heard you're taking a cruise," said Jayne, one of the three excluded, trying to reroute the conversation.
"We are, leaving Christmas Day in fact."
"So you're just eliminating Christmas altogether?" asked Beth, another casual acquaintance who got invited each year only because her husband's firm did business with Wiley & Beck.
"Everything," Nora said aggressively as her stomach tightened4.
"That's a good way to save money," said Lila, the biggest bitch of the bunch. Her emphasis on the word "money" implied that perhaps things were a bit tight around the Krank household. Nora's cheeks began to burn. Lila's husband was a pediatrician. Luther knew for a fact that they were heavily in debt-big house, big cars, country clubs. Earned a lot, spent even more.
Thinking of Luther, where was he in these awful moments? Why was she taking the brunt of his harebrained scheme? Why was she on the front lines while he sat smugly in his quiet office dealing5 with people who either worked for him or were afraid of him? It was a good-old-boy club, Wiley & Beck, a bunch of stuffy6 tight-fisted accountants who were probably toasting Luther for his bravery in avoiding Christmas and saving a few bucks7. If his defiance8 could become a trend anywhere, it was certainly in the accounting9 profession.
Here she was getting scorched10 again while Luther was safely at work, probably playing the hero.
Women handled Christmas, not men. They shopped and decorated and cooked, planned parties and sent cards and fretted11 over things the men never thought about. Why, exactly, was Luther so keen on dodging12 Christmas when he put so little effort into it?
Nora fumed13 but held her fire. No sense starting an all-girl rumble14 at the center for battered women.
Someone mentioned adjournment15 and Nora was the first out of the room. She fumed even more as she drove home-unpleasant thoughts about Lila and her comment about money. Even uglier thoughts about her husband and his selfishness. She was sorely tempted16 to cave right then, go on a spree and have the house decorated by the time he got home. She could have a tree up in two hours. It wasn't too late to plan her party. Frohmeyer would be happy to take care of their Frosty. Cut back on the gifts and a few other things, and they would still save enough to pay for the cruise.
She turned onto Hemlock17 and of course the first thing she noticed was the fact that only one house had no snow-man on the roof. Leave it to Luther. Their pretty two-story brick home standing18 alone, as if the Kranks were Hindus or Buddhists19, some strain that didn't believe in Christmas.
She stood in her living room and looked out the front window, directly through the spot where their beautiful tree always stood, and for the first time Nora was struck with how cold and undecorated her house was. She bit her lip and went for the phone, but Luther had stepped out for a sandwich. In the stack of mail she'd retrieved20 from the box, between two envelopes containing holiday cards, she saw something that stopped her cold. Airmail, from Peru. Spanish words stamped on the front.
Nora sat down and tore it open. It was two pages of Blair's lovely handwriting, and the words were precious.
She was having a great time in the wilds of Peru. Couldn't be better, living with an Indian tribe that had been around for several thousand years. They were very poor, according to our standards, but healthy and happy. The children were at first very distant, but they had come around, wanting to learn. Blair rambled21 on a bit about the children.
She was living in a grass hut with Stacy, her new friend from Utah. Two other Peace Corps22 volunteers lived nearby. The corps had started the small school four years earlier. Anyway, she was healthy and well fed, no dreaded23 diseases or deadly animals had been spotted24, and the work was challenging.
The last paragraph was the jolt25 of fortitude26 that Nora so desperately27 needed. It read:
I know it will be difficult not having me there for Christmas, but please don't be sad. My children know nothing of Christmas. They have so little, and want so little, it makes me feel guilty for the mindless materialism28 of our culture, There are no calendars here, and no clocks, so I doubt if I'll even know when it comes and goes.
(Besides, we can catch up next year, can't we?)
Such a smart girl. Nora read it again and was suddenly filled with pride, not only for raising such a wise and mature daughter but also for her own decision to forgo29, at least for a year, the mindless materialism of our culture.
She called Luther again and read him the letter.
Monday night at the mall! Not Luther's favorite place, but he sensed Nora needed a night out. They had dinner in a fake pub on one end, then fought through the masses to get to the other, where a star-filled romantic comedy was opening at the multiplex. Eight bucks a ticket, for what Luther knew would be another dull two hours of overpaid clowns giggling30 their way through a subliterate plot. But anyway, Nora loved the movies and he tagged along to keep peace. Despite the crowds, the cinema was deserted31, and this thrilled Luther when he realized that everybody else was out there shopping. He settled low in his seat with his popcorn32, and went to sleep.
He awoke with an elbow in his ribs33.
"You're snoring," Nora hissed34 at him.
"Who cares? The place is empty."
"Hush35 up, Luther."
He watched the movie, but after five minutes had had enough, "I'll be back," he whispered, and left. He'd rather fight through the mob and get stepped on than watch such foolishness. He rode the escalator to the upper level, where he leaned on the rail and watched the chaos36 below. A Santa was holding court on his throne and the line was moving very slowly. Over at the ice rink the music blared from scratchy speakers while kids in elf costumes skated around some stuffed creature that appeared to be a reindeer37. Every parent watched through the lens of a videocamera. Weary shoppers trudged38 along, lugging39 shopping bags, bumping into others, fighting with their children.
Luther had never felt prouder.
Across the way, he saw a new sporting goods store. He strolled over, noticing through the window that there was a crowd inside and certainly not enough cashiers. He was just browsing40, though. He found the snorkel41 gear in the back, a rather slim selection, but it was December. The swimsuits were of the Speedo variety, breathtakingly narrow all the way around and designed solely42 for Olympic swimmers under the age of twenty. More of a pouch43 than a garment. He was afraid to touch them. He'd get himself a catalog and shop from the safety of his home.
As he left the store an argument was raging at a checkout44, something about a layaway that got lost. What fools.
He bought himself a fat-free yogurt and killed time strolling along the upper concourse, smiling smugly at the harried45 souls burning their way through their paychecks. He stopped and gawked at a life-sized poster of a gorgeous young thing in a string bikini, her skin perfectly46 tanned. She was inviting47 him to step inside a small salon48 called Tans Forever. Luther glanced around as if it were an adult bookstore, then ducked inside where Daisy was waiting behind a magazine. Her brown face forced a smile and seemed to crack along the forehead and around the eyes. Her teeth had been whitened, her hair lightened, her skin darkened, and for a second Luther wondered what she looked like before the project.
Not surprisingly, Daisy said it was the best time of the year to purchase a package. Their Christmas special was twelve sessions for $60. Only one session every other day, fifteen minutes at first, but working up to a max of twenty-five. When the package was over, Luther would be superbly tanned and certainly prepared for anything the Caribbean sun could throw at him.
He followed her a few steps to a row of booths-flimsy little rooms with a tanning bed each and not much else. They were now featuring state-of-the-art FX-2000 BronzeMats, straight from Sweden, as if the Swedes knew everything about sunbathing49. At first glance, the BronzeMat horrified50 Luther. Daisy explained that you simply undressed, yes, everything, she purred, slid into the unit, and pulled the top down in a manner that reminded Luther of a waffle iron. Cook for fifteen or twenty minutes, a timer goes off, get up, get dressed. Nothing to it.
"How much do you sweat?" Luther asked, struggling with the image of himself lying completely exposed while eighty lamps baked all parts of his body.
She explained that things got warm. Once done, you simply wiped off your BronzeMat with a spray and paper towels, and things were suitable for the next guy.
Skin cancer? he inquired. She offered a phony laugh. No way. Perhaps with the older units before they perfected the technology to virtually eliminate ultraviolet rays and such. The new BronzeMats were actually safer than the sun itself. She'd been tanning for eleven years.
And your skin looks like burnt cowhide, Luther mused51 to himself.
He signed up for two packages for $120. He left the salon with the determination to get himself tanned, however uncomfortable it would be. And he chuckled52 at the thought of Nora stripping down behind paper-thin walls and inserting herself into the BronzeMat.
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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blurted
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| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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randomly
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| adv.随便地，未加计划地 | |
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tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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stuffy
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| adj.不透气的，闷热的 | |
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bucks
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| n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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fumed
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| 愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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adjournment
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| 休会； 延期； 休会期； 休庭期 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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hemlock
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| n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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Buddhists
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| n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 ) | |
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retrieved
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| v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息） | |
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rambled
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的过去式和过去分词 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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jolt
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| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
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fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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materialism
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| n.［哲］唯物主义，唯物论；物质至上 | |
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forgo
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| v.放弃，抛弃 | |
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giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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31
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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popcorn
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| n.爆米花 | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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34
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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reindeer
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| n.驯鹿 | |
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trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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lugging
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| 超载运转能力 | |
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browsing
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| v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
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41
snorkel
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| n.泳者所戴的通气管，潜水艇的吸、排气装置 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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43
pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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44
checkout
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| n.（超市等）收银台，付款处 | |
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45
harried
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| v.使苦恼( harry的过去式和过去分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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48
salon
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| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
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49
sunbathing
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| n.日光浴 | |
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50
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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51
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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52
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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