Chapter 41

ON THE EVENING of the third day, several hours after I'd returned from my visit to Ben Bugger's sickroom, Robin¹ called. I'd been lying around, watching TV, had switched off the set as the tag² line for the six o'clock news blared, and poured myself a triple³ Chivas.

Grinning anchorman. Overlays of familiar faces.

"Professor arrested in coed's death!"

I'd taken a swallow, was listening to the whiskey whisper in my throat when the phone rang.

"Hi, it's me."

"Hi, you."

"You all right?"

"Serene⁴."

"Guess where I was today?" she said.

"The zoo?"

Silence. "How'd you know that?"

"With San Diego, my first association⁵ is always the zoo."

"Well, that's where I was."

"You and the dentist?"

"Me, myself. The dentist has a boyfriend, and they went down to Tijuana for the day. Invited me but..."

"Abandoned," I said. "Sorry. So how're the animals?"

"Fine— I can't believe you guessed the zoo."

"Blind luck."

"Or no one knows me like you do."

"I don't know about that."

"Come join me down here," she said. "I'll rent us a room at the Del Coronado."

"When?" I said.

"The sooner the better— You don't want to do it. You're angry at me."

"No," I said. "Everything you said was true. I've been trying to process."

"It was true but, still, I walked out on you— It hit me, walking around the zoo, alone. How did I do that? Talk about abandonment. Will you come, Alex? Meet me at the hotel?"

"What about Spike⁶?"

"Debby's got a little Peke, and she and Spike are fast friends."

"Till he steals her food," I said.

"Alex?"

"It'll take me a couple of hours. You're sure you want this?"

"How can we work things out if we're not together? If I react by ... what does Milo call it—rabbiting?"

"San Diego," I said.

"I know it's not Paris, but . . . would you rather I come back home? I can go back to Debby's place and pack up my stuff⁷."

"No," I said. "I'll be down there soon as I can."

"I'll arrange everything at the Del Coronado. Meet me up in the room— I love you, baby. Love you so much."

"Even if I am crazy."

"Even if."

I locked up the house, was nearly at the door when I changed my mind.

Returning to my office, I booted up the computer, fooled around for a while until I found an on-line travel service. Did some comparison⁸ shopping and purchased two nonstop tickets to Paris.

1 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

2 tag   

n.标签，附属物，名称，谚语；vt.附以签条，尾随，添饰，指责，连接；vi.紧随，尾随

参考例句：

• Please tag your baggage.请在你的行李上贴上标签了。
• The clerk attached a price tag to each article.店员给每一件商品系上标价签。

3 triple   

n.三倍之数，三个一组；adj.三倍的

参考例句：

• Twelve is the triple of four.十二是四的三倍数。
• He received triple wages for all his extra work.由于额外的工作他领取了三倍的工资。

4 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

5 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

6 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

7 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

8 comparison   

n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻

参考例句：

• They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
• This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来，这件衣服确实便宜。