The Traveling Vampire Show

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

I tried not to grin. “Oh, nothing.”

She reached up with her right hand, flicked her middle finger and thumped the tip of my nose. Not very hard, but hard enough to make me blink and take a step backward. Also, my eyes watered.

“Oh, no,” Slim said, suddenly looking appalled. “I’m sorry. God, why do I keep doing this stuff?” She put her hands on both sides of my face, drew my head toward her and kissed me on the nose. Then she kissed me on the mouth.

I almost reached for her breasts. I remembered last time, and how they’d felt. But I also remembered the result.

Taking her by the wrists, instead, I moved her hands away from my face. Her mouth went away, too.

“I’d better take a look at the drier,” I said.

Looking me in the eyes, she nodded slightly. “Good idea,” she said, her voice low and shaky.

She stepped aside. I went to the drier. “Nothing at all happens when you turn it on, right?”

“The drier?”

“Right, the drier.”

“Right. Nothing at all happens.”

“Sounds like it might be a problem with the power.”

“Sure,” Slim said.

“Was it working before?”

“Yeah. Mom did the wash a couple of days ago. It was working fine.”

Holding on to my towel, I stepped around the side of the machine and looked behind it with high hopes of finding the power cord unplugged. But it looked secure in its socket.

“It is plugged in,” Slim told me. “I already checked that.”

“You did?”

“I’m not an idiot.”

I looked at her and grinned. “I know.”

“So what do you think it is?”

“It might be a dead outlet. Have you got an extension cord?”

“Sure. Right back.” She whirled around. Her blouse fluttered and rippled behind her as she ran toward the doorway. The air flapped its tail.

She leaped through the doorway and vanished into the other side of the garage.

While she was gone, I squatted beside the machine, scooted it away from the wall, reached behind it and pulled the plug out of the wall socket.

Slim came back with the coil of an extension cord dangling from one hand. “Here you go,” she said.

“Thanks.”

I took it from her and pushed the dryer’s plug into the extension. Holding my towel with one hand, I stood up and followed Slim to an outlet near the door.

“Try this one,” she said.

I pushed the prongs of the extension cord into the holes of the outlet.

Slim said, “Ahhh” as the drier came to life.

Chapter Thirty-five

Leaving our clothes in the drier, we went back to Slim’s house. I led the way, using my left hand to hold my towel secure. Slim carried the beer bottles.

In the kitchen, she set the bottles on the table. “Maybe you’d better give Lee a call.”

“^Oh, yeah,” I said.

Slim swept her hand toward the wall phone.

“Now?” I asked.

“Don’t you think you should?”

“I guess so,” I admitted. I frowned at the phone, reluctant to make the call.

“What’s wrong?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“We’d better make sure she’s all right.”

“Yeah.”

“And find out if she’s had any weird stuff happen.”

“How about if we wait and call later?”

“What’s wrong with now?”

“I don’t know.” I happened, just then, to glance at Slim’s legs.

She grinned. “It’s a phone call, Dwight. She won’t be able to see us.”

“I know, but…” I shrugged.

“Want me to leave the room?”

“No!” The word burst from my mouth.

Slim flinched.

“Don’t leave,” I said, trying to make my voice calm. “You’ll probably vanish again.”

“I told you, I haven’t vanished.”

“That’s your opinion.”

A glint of mischief in her eyes, she said, “I oughta know.”

“Don’t go anywhere,” I told her.

I stepped over to the phone, made sure my towel was secure, then lifted the receiver off its hook. I knew Lee’s number by heart. While I dialed it, Slim pulled a chair away from the kitchen table and sat down.

Lee’s phone started to ring.

With the table in the way, I didn’t need to worry about seeing anything lower than Slim’s belly.

I listened to the quiet ringing and we gazed into each other’s eyes.

It started out as that intense, curious, hopeful stare that we’d been giving each other so much lately. Our love stare, I guess. But then Slim’s gaze faltered, and so did mine. Soon, we were frowning at each other.

“How many times has it rung?” she asked.

“I don’t know, seven or eight.”

“Give it a few more.”

“She usually gets it in two or three if she’s home.”

“Maybe she’s in the bathroom or something.”

Maybe she’s busy, I thought, and doesn’t want to be bothered by a phone call right now and she’s wondering what sort of jerk is keeping at it this long.

As I let it continue to ring, I began to hope Lee wouldn’t answer. She was one of my favorite people, not only beautiful but one of my best friends, so I hated to make a nuisance of myself.

Finally, I hung up.

“Well,” Slim said.

“Yeah.”

“I wonder what that means.”

“Maybe she went somewhere,” I said.

“Or she’s taking a bath,” Slim said. “If she’s running the water, she might not even hear the phone. Or maybe she heard it, but didn’t want to get out of the tub.”

I pictured Lee lounging in her bathtub, wet and shiny.

“I sure don’t get out to answer the phone,” Slim said, and I pictured her in her bathtub.

Starting to get excited, I sat down at the kitchen table across from Slim.