The Time Remaining

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34 4 “I agreed in a weak moment, Ruby,” says Gilchrist. “I need a secretary as much as I need a wife.” “Gil, sometimes I think you need a wife more than you realize.” “Why do you say that? You of all people?” “Instinct . . .” Gilchrist watches Ruby crush her cigarette into a zigzag in the ashtray beside his bed and stand. She has always appeared to him as a woman who looks exactly her age, unlike the others he has known who strive to look younger or older. If someone guessed that Ruby Levenson was thirty-two years old, he or she would be exactly right. And it is a fit thirtytwo . She is slightly taller than five and a half feet, and she has the kind of taut facial skin and set jaw that come from having done a lot of things outdoors and liking it. She is still wearing Gilchrist’s terry-cloth white bathrobe that she slipped on after she showered. Unbelted, the bathrobe parts as she stands and reveals the naked axis of her body from the breasts and down. “How long have we known one another, Ruby?” Gilchrist asks. “Three years. Three years on the fifth of July.” “And how many times have we been together like this?” “Here or in the apartment in Saranac?” “Altogether.” “What do you want, a tally?” Ruby pulls the bathrobe around her and belts it with a quick bow. “You always know just what to say to take the romance out of the moment, Dodge. It’s a good thing I’m as cynical as you are, or I’d be hurt.” “There’s no cynicism in it, Ruby. You please me, and you tell me that I’m good at pleasing you. It’s an even trade, and it’s based on mutual Ahead of Time | 35 self-interest, which means that it’s based on the best of all possible foundations . And there are no lingering questions, right?” “Right,” says Ruby, but she is not smiling. “When do you head north for Saranac?” “Later on. I still have some things to do in the city.” “Still hooked on your horses up there?” “What do you have against horses? For pure grace there’s no other animal that can match them.” “The female nude puts them all to shame,” says Gilchrist, tugging at her bathrobe so that Ruby has no choice but to sit on her side of the tousled bed where he is still lying on his back, naked. “Come on, Gil. Get dressed. You’re going to make me believe that you’re a subliminal nudist.” “Why subliminal?” “All right, just a nudist. Forget the adjective.” “Are you in a rush to go somewhere?” “You’re the one who said we were going out for dinner. Did you change your mind? Do you want to go or don’t you?” “In due time,” says Gilchrist. He eases up until he is sitting beside Ruby on the edge of the bed. He runs his hand up and down her back, up and down, and down. “Come on, Gil. This is one Jewish girl who happens to be hungry.” “You confirm my theory.” “What theory?” “My theory of the world.” “What might that be?” “We’re all creatures of appetite. Appetite and consciousness are all we have going for us. Understand those two forces, and you understand the way things are. Camus understood that.” “Camus? Did that great insight come to you just because I said I was hungry?” “In part, yes.” “I was talking about dinner. What appetite are you talking about, or should I ask?” “Guess.” 36 | The Time Remaining “You’re impossible.” Gilchrist stands and turns slowly to the right so that he is facing her. Ruby does not look up at him even when he takes her hands in his and raises her slowly to her feet so that they are standing face-to-face. Using first his right hand, then his left, Gilchrist slips his arms under her loosening bathrobe flaps and locks his fingers at the back of her waist, which is still moist from the shower. The loose bow of the bathrobe belt slowly unties itself until the folds of the robe part completely. Drawing her closer to him, he kisses her on the forehead, then on each brow. “Is this Act 2?” asks Ruby, still not raising her...