Saturday, July 29, 2006

"Great Times," Chapter 26

Copyright 2006, Terry F. Phillips Sr.
All rights reserved.

Chapter 26
On the trip west, Connie explained all she knew about the puzzling relationship between Eddie Adams and Mrs. Davis, the lady who ran the boarding house in Chicago.
“I’m not really sure - that is, I find - what I’m trying to say is that there is something very peculiar about Eddie,” she said.
Ted smiled, thinking of the effeminate manner Eddie displayed while arguing with Barbara at the studio on Ted’s first night in Chicago.
But, he said, “Most radio people are peculiar.”
Connie shot a quick look at him.
“Don’t be patronizing,” she said. “It doesn’t become you.
“No, Ted, I mean there is something really strange about Eddie.”
“Is he homosexual?”
“I don’t think so,” she said.
She reddened ever so slightly. Whenever she had run into Eddie, she had seen him giving her the once over. There was chemistry there. He obviously appreciated women - in a sexual way.
But she understood Ted’s question. There was the lisp. Eddie had a tall, very thin, almost wispy, feminine appearance. His effeminate image did not fit the vibes she received when she was around him.
She tried again to explain what she knew.
“I was approached by Barbara,” she said.
“His girlfriend?”
“The girl who sang with him,” she said. “That was the problem. She was really mixed up. Poor kid.”
Connie took a swallow of her drink.
“She once told me that when she was falling for him, she could not get him to kiss her, so she took the initiative.”
She took another sip.
“And?”
“And, nothing. She said it felt like kissing her brother or her nephew.”
“How do Eddie and Mrs. Adams fit together?” he asked.
“I’m not sure they do - not really. Eddie stayed in the boarding house when he first came to Chicago; that’s what I was told. In fact,” she laughed. “He stayed in your room.”
Ted shivered involuntarily and Connie laughed more.
“I think they may be distant relation or she just felt sorry for him and sort of adopted him - you know, they way she does everyone who stays in her house.”

No comments:

Post a Comment

Feel free to comment: