Page 117 - The Grotesque Children's Book
P. 117
“You still have Helen.”
“My point exactly.”
“Is she still --” At this point there was in the next room a loud crashing
sound, followed immediately by a “Don't worry, I'll clean it up!” Gaetana said,
“I take back the question. Listen, darling, I want you to remarry.”
“No! Don't say that. There's no one but you.”
“Well, flattering as that is, and, truly, I'm touched. I really am very
touched. It's the rare wife whose husband's love is so strong he can bring her
back from the dead. But...”
“I don't like the way you say that.”
“Although you say there's no one but I, the fact is, Vitale my love, that
I'm not I any longer. I'm in a grave.”
“Actually, I paid for a mausoleum.”
“Really! Oh my goodness, that's so...extravagant.”
“There were throngs, adoring crowds at your funeral.”
“Oh! Where was I for all of that? I would have liked to have seen that.”
Gaetana stopped a moment, a little hesitation in her voice, “Say, Vitale, I'm
looking at this body you've carved of me. I think, I think you've made my knees
a little knobby, don't you think?”
“Knobby? No.”
“Just a little. Mine in life were smoother.”
“They're beautiful. They're just as I remember them.”
“They can't be. I look like I have the knees of a giraffe.”
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