the set, she ordered me off and then slapped me across the mouth before I even had time to turn around."
He thought back. "Yeah, you know what her nickname is? The Iron Maiden. A very tough lady. And mean when the occasion warrants."
"And incredibly possessive of Cobey . Do you know that he lived with her from the time he was six? She took him from his parents and just sent them checks." She laughed. "So I figure you can handle Lilly while I sneak off and interview Cobey ."
"Gee, thanks. Lilly is my kind of woman, all right."
And then the silence fell. It was inevitable, both of them being essentially reticent types.
"You kind of nervous, Puckett?"
"Yeah. Are you?"
She nodded.
The silence again.
"I don't want to make love tonight, Puckett."
"All right."
"I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings. Or your pride."
"I'll survive."
"I feel a whole lot of things. Confusing things. Contradictory things."
"I understand."
"You look so sad."
"I'm just kind of confused, too."
"You are?" she said.
He nodded.
"I guess we could always sort of compromise," she said.
"Huh?"
"And just sort of hold each other and sleep together and not make love."
"Do you think we're adult enough to actually do that?"
"I know I am—but I don't know about you."
"Wise ass."
And then she was in his arms again.
4
I t wasn't easy, but somehow they did not actually make love. It was sort of like high school. First he got to first base, and then he got to second base, and then, just when he started sliding into third, she said, soft and unseen in the darkness, "Please, Puckett. For both our sakes. Let's wait, all right?"
She was well worth waiting for, Anne Addison.
5
S ometime in the middle of the night, it began to rain. Wind blew beads of water against the window so hard they sounded like BBs. Behind the drawn white curtains, jagged daggers of silver lightning played across the sky, and thunder rumbled ominously in the distance.
The storm had awakened them both.
They lay naked in each other's arms beneath the warm covers. They felt snug and safe and happy as children.
"I've missed you, Puckett," she said.
She didn't need to say anything else.
Chapter Three
I
T hey spent the next day visiting places on a list a friend of Puckett's had given him a while back—lunch at Rocky's on the Navy Pier where they had white codfish sandwiches—then taking a tour of the Elks National Memorial Building with its huge rotunda, 100 feet tall and made of marble; then the Adler Planetarium; and finally a stop at Topper's Recordtown , where they saw such goodies as original 45s by such artists as Elvis, Chuck Berry and the Beatles.
And where, in a stack labeled "TV tie-ins," Puckett found a 45 with a sleeve that showed a young Cobey Daniels in crew-neck sweater and Beatle haircut grinning right out at you. The name of the song was "I'm Your Baby, Yes I Am!" and it was billed as "TV's No 1 Star Now Sings America's No 1 Hit!" Cobey had had several hits.
Anne was busy looking at albums, but when she came by again, Puckett waggled the record at her and said, "Who's this?"
"Who's who?" she said, taking the record and looking at it and smiling. "God, look how young he is."
They spent another twenty minutes in the store. The place was nirvana for nostalgia buffs. So many memories...so many eras...so many huge stars who were now utterly forgotten... and all the dance songs...The Stroll...The Mashed Potato...The Twist...The Frug .
Puckett almost blushed, recalling that he'd clumsily tried to dance each and every one of them, desperately trying to please this or that girl...
Anne ended up buying a Connie Francis soundtrack album, Where The Boys Are .
"My sister took me to this when I was eight," Anne said as they walked up to the cash register. "I still remember feeling sorry for Connie Francis."
"Feeling sorry for her? Why? She was a huge star," Puckett said, puzzled.
"Yes, but in the movies she was surrounded by all these
He thought back. "Yeah, you know what her nickname is? The Iron Maiden. A very tough lady. And mean when the occasion warrants."
"And incredibly possessive of Cobey . Do you know that he lived with her from the time he was six? She took him from his parents and just sent them checks." She laughed. "So I figure you can handle Lilly while I sneak off and interview Cobey ."
"Gee, thanks. Lilly is my kind of woman, all right."
And then the silence fell. It was inevitable, both of them being essentially reticent types.
"You kind of nervous, Puckett?"
"Yeah. Are you?"
She nodded.
The silence again.
"I don't want to make love tonight, Puckett."
"All right."
"I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings. Or your pride."
"I'll survive."
"I feel a whole lot of things. Confusing things. Contradictory things."
"I understand."
"You look so sad."
"I'm just kind of confused, too."
"You are?" she said.
He nodded.
"I guess we could always sort of compromise," she said.
"Huh?"
"And just sort of hold each other and sleep together and not make love."
"Do you think we're adult enough to actually do that?"
"I know I am—but I don't know about you."
"Wise ass."
And then she was in his arms again.
4
I t wasn't easy, but somehow they did not actually make love. It was sort of like high school. First he got to first base, and then he got to second base, and then, just when he started sliding into third, she said, soft and unseen in the darkness, "Please, Puckett. For both our sakes. Let's wait, all right?"
She was well worth waiting for, Anne Addison.
5
S ometime in the middle of the night, it began to rain. Wind blew beads of water against the window so hard they sounded like BBs. Behind the drawn white curtains, jagged daggers of silver lightning played across the sky, and thunder rumbled ominously in the distance.
The storm had awakened them both.
They lay naked in each other's arms beneath the warm covers. They felt snug and safe and happy as children.
"I've missed you, Puckett," she said.
She didn't need to say anything else.
Chapter Three
I
T hey spent the next day visiting places on a list a friend of Puckett's had given him a while back—lunch at Rocky's on the Navy Pier where they had white codfish sandwiches—then taking a tour of the Elks National Memorial Building with its huge rotunda, 100 feet tall and made of marble; then the Adler Planetarium; and finally a stop at Topper's Recordtown , where they saw such goodies as original 45s by such artists as Elvis, Chuck Berry and the Beatles.
And where, in a stack labeled "TV tie-ins," Puckett found a 45 with a sleeve that showed a young Cobey Daniels in crew-neck sweater and Beatle haircut grinning right out at you. The name of the song was "I'm Your Baby, Yes I Am!" and it was billed as "TV's No 1 Star Now Sings America's No 1 Hit!" Cobey had had several hits.
Anne was busy looking at albums, but when she came by again, Puckett waggled the record at her and said, "Who's this?"
"Who's who?" she said, taking the record and looking at it and smiling. "God, look how young he is."
They spent another twenty minutes in the store. The place was nirvana for nostalgia buffs. So many memories...so many eras...so many huge stars who were now utterly forgotten... and all the dance songs...The Stroll...The Mashed Potato...The Twist...The Frug .
Puckett almost blushed, recalling that he'd clumsily tried to dance each and every one of them, desperately trying to please this or that girl...
Anne ended up buying a Connie Francis soundtrack album, Where The Boys Are .
"My sister took me to this when I was eight," Anne said as they walked up to the cash register. "I still remember feeling sorry for Connie Francis."
"Feeling sorry for her? Why? She was a huge star," Puckett said, puzzled.
"Yes, but in the movies she was surrounded by all these
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