THE WOMAN

٤٤٠

AND HIS LOVE

by j. lorna strayer

The dark, suave young man rested a hand-sewn, highly polished shoe on the window ledge and lighted an imported cork tipped cigarette. He inhaled, long and full, three times, looking unseeingly at the busy street below. With bluewhite smoke curling from his nostrils he turned, stopped in front of a mirror, and ran a comb through his blue-black wavy hair. His hair was long, but he liked it that way, long and tapered in the back. On the street women looked at him with curious interest, while men-he didn't care what most men thought of him, because now no one really counted except, John.

John, the conventionalist, the conformer who always insisted on being careful. For John, Alex had learned to curb the movements of his hands; had taken a speech course to control the pitch of his voice. For John, he had tried to modify his wardrobe so that he now often felt so common. Almost like "the man in the grey flannel suit." He envied John's naturalness; his ability to appear as an average guy. It was his profession to look masculine, John always said.

Alex went to a closet, removed his charcoal-green coat with the high, narrow lapels and slipped into one of fresh white nylon, mandarin style, which buttoned along one side. He glanced at the large round clock on the wall.

"OK, Louise," he said to the sleek uniformed girl at the desk, "see if Mrs. Albright is ready."

Inside his cubicle he tore the date from the daily calender, proceeded to arrange combs, hair pins and solutions. Mrs. Albright thrust her mangy looking head coyly through the door.

"Good morning, Alex." The syrupy sweetness of her voice seemed to fill the room and cling in stickiness to the cubicle.

Alex brightened, presenting an exterior of charming attentiveness.

"Good morning, Mrs. Albright. Wait, let me look at you." He surveyed her studiously for a moment, then smiled. "Yes, you have lost weight. You're looking slimmer every time I see you."

She hugged his arm to her. "You're just a sweet big boy for saying that, but I did lose a little bit."

"No more chocolates I suppose," he answered. "Or perhaps one or two now

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