Stone 588 by Gerald A Browne Page A

especially in certain lights, as though she'd sprinkled shining cinnamon all through it. That went beautifully with her skin, creamy and fine-textured, which was advantageous for her eyes, their irises as green-bright as underwater moss contained within hoops of black. There was an elegant quality to her face. Her nose was so straight and nicely narrow it was suspect, her chin well-defined but not aggressive. Her upper lip was fuller, giving her mouth constant expression, innocence on the verge of seduction.
    A painstaking woman, was the impression of her most frequently assumed. Especially by other women. Surely she was given to vanities, centered a major portion of each day on herself. How otherwise could the complexion of her neck and face be so flawless, she remain so slender, appear so well-dressed?
    Actually, Audrey was one of those rare fortunates who could look superb without much effort. A beauty ritual such as a facial masque was for female play, not something to be taken seriously. Usually she wore only minimal makeup, an outline here, an exact smudge of shading there, a few strategic powdery fluffs with a fat brush. Her slenderness was natural and, at least for the time being, perpetual. If she gained a little it didn't show. She never bothered to get on a scale. Because she was slim and tall, clothes looked well on her, and, although she kept one eye on the latest fashions, she didn't kowtow to their extremes. She took hints but there was no need to tell her what to wear, not when she could throw on almost any old thing and be smashing to some degree. Her sense of style seldom failed her. It amazed Springer, whenever on the spur of the moment he suggested going out, how quickly she got ready. Often she had to wait for him.
    Her hand moved with the steering wheel. The ring on her second finger caught sun. It was a cabochon sapphire of ten carats set in plain yellow gold. Not the finest quality sapphire, but a Ceylon chosen by her for the very reason that it was worth less: its washy blue color. The flare it threw diverted Springer from the knob of her ankle. He looked out and realized they were now on the Hutchinson River Parkway with all its swoops and swerves. He leaned across and kissed Audrey on the neck and simultaneously got a look at the speedometer. It indicated twenty over the posted limit. Not to worry, he told himself, Audrey was intuitive when it came to lurking police cars. She also had Aunt Libby for a fix.
    Audrey turned down the volume on a Bruce Springsteen and asked, "Do you ever get existential anxiety?"
    "Such as?" he stalled, trying to decipher it.
    "When you're bored."
    "I don't get bored."
    "Never?"
    "Not any more."
    She didn't accept that. "Practically everyone at one time or another feels he's not enjoying life and it's not life's fault."
    She could be testing, he thought. He'd be vague. "I suppose."
    "Then you've had the feeling?"
    "Have you?"
    "No fair answering a question with a question. Know what Nietzsche said?"
    "Which Nietzsche?"
    "He said. Even the gods get bored and can't do anything about it."
    "Nietzsche and God were talking over a couple of beers and God complained that he didn't know what to do with himself."
    "I'm serious and you're being a smart-ass."
    Springer looked out and saw they were passing by the Maple Moor Country Club, a section of it that was occupied annually by a large flock of wild geese. Four stylish golfers were pulling their bag carts along the fairway, stepping with care among the goose droppings.

    "Well?" Audrey prompted.
    What was she getting at? Why was boredom on her mind? Maybe she was coming in obliquely. "Are you trying to say we're getting predictable?" For his comfort she took too long to reply.
    "I think I've enough curiosity about you to last a lifetime."
    That was how he liked to hear her talk.
    "Besides," she went on, "you've got boredom all wrong. Boredom's not bad. It's a healthy nudge in the direction of a move ... a more highly charged