0:01

Hey, it's Otis here. Before we get

0:03

to the bedtime reading, I wanted to let you

0:05

know that I just launched a brand new show.

0:08

It's called The Daily Book Club, a daytime

0:10

companion to Sleepy, where you hear entire books,

0:12

one chapter at a time, one day at

0:15

a time. Simple as that. So

0:17

if Sleepy is how you wind down your

0:19

day, The Daily Book Club is a great

0:21

way to start your day. There's

0:23

new episodes daily. I

0:25

read in a slightly peppier voice so that

0:28

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0:30

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0:33

Or just like Sleepy, you can sit back

0:35

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0:37

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0:39

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0:42

is, in the 1920s, four

0:44

women unfulfilled with life take a

0:46

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0:48

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0:50

a story dripping with wisteria, the

0:53

beauty of solitude, and an unlikely

0:55

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0:58

I think that this is a perfect story for

1:00

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1:02

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and I'm so excited to bring you

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1:13

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1:26

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3:42

Hey, my name's

3:44

Otis Gray and you're listening to SLEEPY.

3:46

A podcast where I read old books to help you get to sleep. Tonight.

4:00

I have a really

4:02

lovely reading from F. Scott

4:04

Fitzgerald that I think you're really

4:06

gonna like. Famously the author of

4:09

The Great Gatsby. And

4:12

before we get to our bedtime reading,

4:15

I just want to profoundly thank all

4:17

of our brand new members on patreon.com

4:20

which is a website where you can directly support

4:22

the people who make the stuff that you like.

4:25

And if you donate $2, you get

4:28

an ad-free version of the Sleepy

4:30

Podcast. So,

4:33

tonight's wonderful patrons. Thank

4:55

you all so,

4:57

so much for

4:59

donating and

5:02

being a part of

5:04

making this show.

5:12

It really, really means a lot. And

5:16

for any of you who don't know, these names

5:18

that I just read are brand new

5:21

patrons on patreon.com which

5:23

is a website where you can go and support the

5:26

people who make the stuff that you like. So

5:29

if you want to be a part of making this

5:31

show and get cool perks like having your name read

5:34

in the opening credits of the next show, if

5:37

you want an ad-free version of the show, or

5:39

you want access to our exclusive poetry

5:41

feed, you can find all of

5:44

those on patreon.com/Sleepy

5:46

Radio. I

5:48

would love to have you. Thank you

5:51

so much. And

5:54

as always, the music you're hearing is by

5:57

my good friend James Lepkowski and

5:59

the cover up for Sleepy. is by

6:01

Gracie Cana. So

6:08

tonight I'm gonna be

6:10

reading from an F Scott

6:12

Fitzgerald story called

6:14

This Side of Paradise. Weirdly

6:19

enough I think not

6:22

a lot of people know about

6:25

this novel that he wrote,

6:27

but it is his debut novel long

6:30

before the great Gatsby

6:33

became his claim to fame.

6:35

But yeah his writing is

6:37

truly lovely and this is kind of broken

6:40

up into a bunch of vignettes and

6:43

I'm gonna be telling

6:45

the first vignette story

6:48

for you tonight to go to sleep to and

6:51

I think you're really gonna like it because I

6:53

liked reading it. So

6:58

without further ado, This

7:00

Side of Paradise by F

7:02

Scott Fitzgerald. And

7:05

now is the time for you to fluff

7:07

up your pillow just how you like it.

7:11

Feel yourself melt into your bed, get

7:15

real comfortable, close

7:18

your eyes, and

7:20

let me read to you. Book

7:38

1 The Romantic Egotist

7:43

Chapter 1. Amory, Son

7:45

of Beatrice Amory

7:50

Blaine inherited from his mother every

7:52

tray except the stray

7:54

and expressible few that made him worthwhile.

7:59

His father An ineffectual, inarticulate

8:01

man with a taste for Byron

8:03

and a habit of drowsing over

8:05

the Encyclopedia Britannica, grew wealthy

8:07

at thirty through the death of two older

8:10

brothers, successful Chicago

8:12

brokers, and in the first

8:14

flush of feeling that the world was his, went

8:16

to Bar Harbor and met Beatrice O'Hara.

8:21

In consequence, Stephen Blaine

8:23

handed down to prosperity his height

8:26

just under six feet and

8:28

his tendency to waver at crucial moments, these

8:32

two abstractions appearing in his son Amory.

8:37

For many years he hovered in the background

8:39

of his family's life, an

8:41

unassertive figure with a face

8:43

half obliterated by lifeless silky hair,

8:46

continually occupied in taking care of

8:48

his wife, continually harassed

8:50

by the idea that he didn't and

8:53

couldn't understand her. But

8:57

Beatrice Blaine, there was a

8:59

woman. Early pictures

9:01

taken on her father's estate at Lake

9:03

Geneva, Wisconsin, or in Rome at

9:06

the Sacred Heart convent, and

9:08

educational extravagance that in her youth was

9:10

only for the daughters of the exceptionally

9:12

wealthy, showed the exquisite delicacy

9:15

of her features, the

9:17

consummate art and simplicity of her clothes. A

9:21

brilliant education she had. Her

9:23

youth passed in Renaissance glory. She

9:26

was versed in the latest gossip of the

9:29

older Roman families, known

9:31

by name as a fabulously wealthy American

9:33

girl, to Cardinal Vittori

9:35

and Queen Margarita, and

9:37

more subtle celebrities that one must have had

9:39

some culture even to have heard of. She

9:45

learned in England to prefer whiskey and soda

9:47

to wine, and her small

9:49

talk was broadened in two senses during a

9:51

winter in Vienna. All

9:55

in all, Beatrice O'Hara absorbed the

9:57

sort of education that would be quite

9:59

impossible ever again, a

10:01

tutelage measured by the number of things and

10:04

people one could be contemptuous of and charming

10:06

about. A

10:09

culture rich in all arts and traditions, barren

10:12

of all ideas, in the

10:14

last of those days when the great

10:16

gardener clipped the inferior roses to produce

10:18

one perfect bud. In

10:22

her less important moments she returned to

10:24

America, met Stephen Blaine, and

10:26

married him, this almost entirely

10:29

because she was a little bit weary, a little

10:32

bit sad. Her

10:34

only child was carried through a tiresome season

10:37

and brought into the world on a spring

10:39

day in ninety-six. When

10:43

Amory was five, he was already

10:45

a delightful companion for her. He

10:48

was an auburn-haired boy, with

10:50

great, handsome eyes which he would grow up to

10:53

in time, a lass-Ile

10:55

imaginative mind, and a taste for fancy dress.

11:00

From his fourth to his tenth year, he

11:02

did the country with his mother in her father's

11:05

private car, for Coronado,

11:07

where his mother became so bored that she

11:10

had a nervous breakdown in a fashionable

11:12

hotel down in Mexico City,

11:15

where she took a mild, almost epidemic

11:17

consumption. His

11:21

trouble pleased her, and later

11:23

she made use of it as an intrinsic part

11:25

of her atmosphere, especially

11:27

after several astounding bracers. So

11:32

while more or less fortunate little rich

11:34

boys were defying governesses on the beach

11:37

at Newport, or being spanked

11:39

or tutored, or read to from

11:41

Dior D'Air or Frank on the

11:43

Mississippi, Amory was

11:45

biting acquiescent bell-boys in the Waldorf,

11:49

outgrowing a natural repugnance to

11:51

chamber music and symphonies, and

11:53

deriving a highly specialized education from

11:55

his mother. Yes,

12:01

Beatrice. Such a

12:03

quaint name for his mother. She encouraged

12:05

her. Dear,

12:08

don't think of getting out of bed yet. I've

12:11

always suspected that early rising in life

12:13

makes one nervous. Gotil

12:16

Day is having your breakfast brought up. All

12:20

right. I'm

12:23

feeling very old today, Amory, she would sigh.

12:26

Her face a rare cameo of pathos. Her

12:29

voice exquisitely modulated. Her

12:31

hands as facile as Bernhardt's. My

12:35

nerves are on edge. On edge.

12:38

We must leave this terrifying place tomorrow

12:40

and go searching for sunshine. Amory's

12:45

penetrating green eyes would look out through tangled

12:48

hair at his mother. Even

12:51

at this age, he had no illusions about her. Amory.

12:55

Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I

12:58

want you to take a red-hot bath as

13:00

hot as you can bear and just relax

13:03

your nerves. You can read

13:05

in the tub if you wish. She

13:09

fed him sections of the Fête Galant

13:12

before he was ten. At eleven

13:15

he could talk glibly, if rather

13:17

reminiscently of Brahms and Mozart

13:19

and Beethoven. One

13:24

afternoon when left alone in the hotel at

13:26

Hot Springs, he sampled

13:28

his mother's apricot cordial and

13:31

as the taste pleased him, he

13:33

became quite tipsy. This

13:36

was fun for a while, but

13:38

he assayed a cigarette in his exaltation and

13:41

succeeded to a vulgar, plebeian reaction.

13:47

Though this incident horrified Beatrice, it

13:50

also secretly amused her and became part of

13:52

what in later generation would have been termed

13:54

her line. He

14:00

heard her tell a room full of awestrucked,

14:02

admiring women one day. It was

14:04

entirely sophisticated and quite charming. But

14:07

Delica, we're all Delica,

14:09

here, you know. Her

14:13

hand was radiantly outlined against her beautiful

14:15

bosom. Then

14:17

sinking her voice to a whisper, she

14:20

told them of the apricot cordial. They

14:24

rejoiced, for she was a brave

14:26

ruckentous. But many were

14:29

the keys turned in sideboard locks that

14:31

night against the possible defection

14:33

of little Bobby or Barbara. These

14:38

domestic pilgrimages were invariably in stay.

14:41

Two maids, the private car, or

14:43

Mr. Blaine when available, and

14:45

very often a physician. When

14:50

Emory had the whooping cough, four

14:52

disgusted specialists glared at each other,

14:54

hunched around his bed. When

14:57

he took scarlet fever, the number

14:59

of attendants, including physicians and nurses,

15:02

totaled fourteen. However,

15:06

blood being thicker than broth, he

15:08

was pulled through. The

15:11

Blains were attached to no city. They

15:14

were the Blains of Lake Geneva. They

15:17

had quite enough relatives to serve in place of

15:19

friends and an enviable

15:21

standing from Pasadena to Cape Cod. The

15:26

Beatrice grew more and more prone to

15:28

like only new acquaintances, as

15:30

there were certain stories such as

15:33

the history of her constitution and its

15:35

many amendments, memories of

15:37

her years abroad that it

15:39

was necessary for her to repeat at regular

15:41

intervals. Like

15:45

Freudian dreams, they must be thrown off,

15:48

else they would sweep in and lay siege to

15:50

her nerves. The

15:53

Beatrice was critical about American women,

15:56

especially the floating population of

15:58

ex-Westerners. They

16:01

have accents, my dear," she told Amory.

16:04

Not Southern accents or Boston accents.

16:07

Not an accent attached to any locality. Just

16:11

an accent. She

16:13

became dreamy. They

16:16

pick up old, moth-eaten London accents that are

16:18

down on their luck and have

16:20

to be used by someone. They

16:23

talk as an English butler

16:25

might have after several years

16:27

in Chicago Grand Opera Company.

16:29

She became almost incoherent. Suppose

16:34

time in every Western woman's life, she

16:37

feels her husband is prosperous enough for

16:39

her to have accents. They

16:42

try to impress me, my dear. Though

16:47

she thought of her body as a mass of frailties,

16:50

she considered her soul quite as ill and

16:53

therefore important in her life. She

16:56

had once been a Catholic, but

16:58

discovering that priests were infinitely more attentive

17:01

when she was in process of losing

17:03

or regaining faith in Mother Church, she

17:06

maintained an enchantingly wavering attitude.

17:11

Often she deplored the bourgeois quality

17:13

of the American Catholic clergy and

17:16

was quite sure that she had lived in the

17:18

shadow of the great continental cathedrals. Her

17:21

soul would still be a thin flame on the

17:23

mighty altar of Rome. Still,

17:28

next to doctors, priests were

17:30

her favorite sport. Ah,

17:34

Bishop Wiston, she would declare,

17:37

I do not want to talk of myself. I

17:39

can imagine the stream of hysterical women

17:42

fluttering at your doors, beseeching

17:44

you to be simpatico. Then

17:48

after an interlude filled by the clergyman, by

17:51

my mood is oddly

17:53

dissimilar. Only

17:57

to bishops and above did she divulge. her

18:00

clerical romance. When

18:02

she had first returned to her country, there

18:05

had been a pagan, swim-burying young

18:07

man in Asheville, for whose

18:10

passionate kisses and unsentimental conversation

18:12

she had taken had decided

18:14

pension. They

18:16

discussed the matter pro and con, with

18:19

an intellectual romancing quite devoid of

18:21

sappiness. Eventually,

18:25

she had decided to marry for background,

18:28

and a young pagan from Asheville had gone

18:30

through a spiritual crisis, joined

18:32

the Catholic Church, and was

18:35

now Monsignor Darcy. Indeed,

18:39

Mrs. Blaine is still

18:41

delightful company, quite the

18:44

Cardinal's right-hand man. Amory

18:47

will go to him one day, I know, breathe

18:50

the beautiful lady, and

18:52

Monsignor Darcy will understand him as he

18:54

understood me. Amory

18:59

became thirteen, rather tall and

19:01

slender, and more than ever

19:03

onto his Celtic mother. He

19:07

had tutored occasionally, the idea

19:09

being that he was to keep up

19:12

at each place taking off work where he left

19:14

off. Yet

19:16

as no tutor ever found the place he left

19:18

off, his mind was still in very

19:20

good shape. What

19:23

a few more years of life would have

19:25

made of him is problematical. However,

19:30

four hours from that land,

19:32

Italy-bound, with Beatrice, his

19:34

appendix burst, probably from

19:36

too many meals in bed, and

19:39

after a series of frantic telegrams to

19:41

Europe and America, to the

19:44

amazement of the passengers, the great ship

19:46

slowly wheeled around and returned

19:48

to New York to deposit Amory at

19:50

the pier. You

19:52

will admit that if it was not life, it

19:56

was magnificent. In

20:00

operation, Beatrice had a nervous breakdown

20:02

that bore a suspicious resemblance to

20:04

delirium trumins, and Amory

20:07

was left in Minneapolis, destined

20:09

to spend the ensuing two years with his

20:11

awn uncle. There

20:15

the crude, vulgar air of Western

20:17

civilization first catches him in

20:19

his underwear, so to speak. A

20:24

kiss for Amory. His

20:26

lip curled when he read it. I

20:30

am going to have a bobbing party, it said, on

20:33

Thursday, December the 17th, at

20:36

five o'clock, and I would like it

20:38

very much if you could come. Yours

20:41

truly, Myra St. Clair,

20:44

RSVP. He

20:48

had been two months in Minneapolis, and his

20:51

chief struggle had been the concealing from the

20:53

other guys at school, how

20:56

particularly superior he felt himself to be.

20:59

But this conviction was built upon shifting

21:01

sands. He had

21:04

shown off one day in French class, he

21:06

was in senior French class, to

21:08

the utter confusion of Mr. Reardon, whose

21:11

accent Amory damned contemptuously, and

21:14

to the delight of the class. Mr.

21:20

Reardon, who had spent several weeks in

21:22

Paris ten years before, took his revenge

21:24

on the verbs, whenever he

21:26

had his book open. At

21:30

another time, Amory showed off in

21:32

history class, with quite disastrous

21:34

results, for the boys

21:36

were his own age, and they

21:38

shrilled innuendos at each other all the

21:40

following week. Oh,

21:45

I believe, don't you know, the

21:47

American Revolution was largely

21:49

an affair of the middle

21:51

classes. Or, Washington

21:54

came a very good blah. Oh,

21:57

quite good, I believe. Emory

22:01

ingeniously tried to retrieve himself by

22:04

blundering on purpose. Two

22:06

years before he had commenced a history of the

22:09

United States, which, though

22:11

it only got as far as the colonial wars, had

22:14

been pronounced by his mother completely enchanting.

22:19

His chief disadvantaged lay in athletics,

22:22

but as soon as he did he discovered that

22:24

it was the touchstone of power and popularity

22:26

at school. He began

22:28

to make furious, persistent efforts to excel

22:31

in the winter sports, and

22:33

with his ankles aching and bending in spite

22:35

of his efforts, he skated

22:37

valiantly around the laurely rink

22:40

every afternoon, wondering how

22:42

soon he would be able to carry a

22:44

hockey stick without getting it inexplicably tangled in

22:46

his skates. The

22:51

invitation to Miss Myra St. Clair's bobbing

22:53

party spent the morning in his coat

22:55

pocket, where he had an

22:57

intense physical affair with a dusty piece of

22:59

peanut brittle. During

23:03

the afternoon he brought it to light

23:06

with a sigh, and after

23:08

some consideration and a preliminary draft

23:10

in the back of Coller and

23:12

Daniel's first-year Latin, composed an

23:14

answer. My

23:17

dear Miss St. Clair, your

23:20

truly charming invitation for

23:22

the evening of next Thursday was truly

23:24

delightful to receive this morning. I

23:27

will be charmed and enchanted indeed to

23:29

present my compliments on next Thursday evening.

23:33

Faithfully, Amory Blaine. On

23:38

Thursday, therefore, he walked pensively

23:41

along the slippery shovel-scraped sidewalks

23:44

and came inside of Myra's house. In

23:48

the half-hour after five, a

23:50

lateness which he fancied his mother would have

23:52

favored. He

23:55

waited on the doorstep, with his

23:57

eyes nonchalantly half-closed and

23:59

planned to his entrance with precision. He

24:03

would cross the floor, not too hastily, to

24:06

Miss St. Clair and say with

24:08

exactly the correct modulation, My

24:12

dear Mrs. St. Clair, I

24:14

am frightfully sorry to be late, but

24:17

my maid. He

24:20

paused there and realized he would

24:22

be quoting, but

24:24

my uncle and I had to see a fellow. Yes,

24:28

I met your enchanting daughter at dancing school.

24:32

Then he would shake hands, using that

24:35

slight, half-foreign bow, with

24:37

all the starchy little females, and

24:40

nod to the fellows who would be standing round, paralyzed

24:43

into rigid groups for mutual

24:45

protection. A

24:51

butler, one of the three

24:53

in Minneapolis, swung open the door. Amory

24:57

stepped inside and divested himself of Cap

24:59

and Co. He

25:02

was mildly surprised not to hear the shrill

25:04

squawk of conversation from the next room, and

25:07

he decided it must be quite formal. He

25:11

approved of that, as he approved of

25:13

the butler. Miss

25:16

Myra, he said. To

25:19

his surprise, the butler grinned horribly. Oh,

25:22

yeah, he declared. She's here. He

25:26

was unaware that his failure to be Cockney

25:28

was ruining his standing. Amory

25:32

considered him coldly. But,

25:35

continued the butler, his

25:38

voice rising unnecessarily. She's

25:40

the only one what is here. The

25:43

party's gone. Amory

25:46

gasped in sudden horror. She's

25:51

been waiting for Amory Blaine. That's

25:53

you, Anna. Her mother

25:56

says that if you showed up by five-thirty,

25:58

You two was a go after him. And the. Emrys

26:03

despair was crystallize by the appearance

26:06

of Marcel. Bundle to the

26:08

ears and Apollo call. her

26:10

face plainly sulky. Her

26:12

voice pleasant only with difficulty. Below

26:17

Emery. Lamarr.

26:21

He described the state of his vitality.

26:24

Well. You got here anyways.

26:28

Well. I'll tell you. I

26:30

guess you don't know about the auto accident

26:33

he romanced. Myers.

26:35

Eyes open. Why? Who

26:38

was a to. Well.

26:42

He continued desperately. Uncle

26:44

and Aunt and I. Was

26:47

anyone kill? Amri

26:50

paused and another. Your

26:53

uncle. Alarm. Oh

26:57

no, just a horse. A sort of

26:59

gray horse. At

27:02

this point, there's butler snickered. Probably.

27:06

Kill the engine. He suggested. Army

27:08

would have put him on the rack without a screwball.

27:13

Will. Go Now said my or a cooling. You.

27:16

See: Amery. The.

27:18

Bars or order for five and everybody

27:20

was here so we can weigh. Well.

27:24

I couldn't help it. Could I? Saw

27:28

mama said for me the way to have passed

27:30

fire. Will. Get the Bob's

27:32

before he gets to the many have

27:34

club memory. Every

27:37

shred it boys drop from him. He

27:41

begs you. The happy party jingling along

27:43

snowy street. The. Appearance of

27:45

the Limousine. The. Horrible public dissent

27:47

of him. And Myra before

27:50

sixty reproach realize. His

27:52

apology. A Real on this time.

27:56

He sighed allowed. One.

28:00

Inquired. Myra, Nothing.

28:03

I was just yawning. Are

28:06

we going to surely catch up with them before

28:08

they get their. News

28:11

encouraging a faint. oh. That they

28:13

may slip into the many are club and

28:15

meet the others. Their. Be. Found

28:18

and blah say seclusion before the

28:20

fire and quite regain his last

28:22

attitude. Oh

28:25

sure. my. Will get tomorrow.

28:28

Let's or is. He

28:32

became conscious of his stomach. As.

28:35

They stepped into the machine. He hurriedly

28:37

slap the pain of diplomacy over the

28:40

rather box like plan he had conceived.

28:45

It was based upon some trade last.

28:47

Gleaned that dancing school. To

28:49

the fact that he was awful good looking. And

28:52

English sorta. Myra

28:55

he said. Lowering his voice

28:58

and choosing his words carefully. I

29:00

beg and thousand pardons. Can.

29:03

You ever forgive me? She

29:07

regarded him gravely. His

29:09

intent green eyes. His mouth.

29:12

The to her thirteen year old arrow

29:14

collar taste was the quintessence of romance.

29:18

Yes, Myra could forgive

29:20

him very easily. Why

29:23

yes sir! He

29:27

looked at her again. And then dropped his

29:29

eyes. He had lashes.

29:33

I'm awful he said sadly. I'm

29:36

different. I don't know.

29:38

I make for pass. Because I

29:41

don't care. Espouse, Then

29:43

recklessly. I've been smoking

29:45

too much. I got tobacco

29:48

har. Myra,

29:51

Pictured and all night tobacco to bash.

29:54

The. Every pale and reeling from the

29:57

effect of nicotine lungs. To.

30:00

gave a little gasp. Oh, Amory, don't smoke. You'll

30:02

stun your girl. I don't care," he persisted gloomily. I

30:04

got to. I got

30:06

to have it. I've

30:08

done a lot of things that if my family

30:10

knew, he hesitated, giving her imagination time

30:20

to picture dark horrors. I

30:23

went to the Beles show last week. Myra

30:27

was quite overcome. He

30:29

turned the green eyes on her again. You're

30:33

the only girl in town I like much, he

30:35

exclaimed in a rush of sentiment. You're

30:38

Simpatico. Myra

30:41

was not sure that she was, but

30:44

it sounded stylish, though vaguely improper.

30:48

Thick dusk had descended outside, and

30:51

as the limousine made a sudden turn, she

30:53

was tilted against him, their

30:55

eyes touched. You

30:59

shouldn't smoke, Amory, she whispered. Don't

31:02

you know that? He

31:04

shook his head. Nobody

31:07

cares. Myra

31:09

hesitated. I

31:11

care. Something

31:15

stirred within Amory. Oh,

31:18

yes, you do. You

31:20

got a crush on Froggy Parker. I

31:23

guess everybody knows that. No,

31:26

I haven't. Very slowly. A

31:30

silence while Amory thrilled. There

31:34

was something fascinating about Myra, shut

31:36

away here cosily from the dim chill air.

31:40

Myra a little bundle of clothes with

31:42

strands of yellow hair curling out from

31:44

under her skating cap. Because

31:48

I've got a crush, too, he

31:51

paused, for he heard in the

31:53

distance the sound of young laughter, Peering

31:56

through the frosted glass along the

31:58

lamplit street. He made

32:00

out the dark outline of the bobbing party. He.

32:05

Must act quickly. He

32:08

reached over with a violent jerky

32:10

ever. And. clutched my or his hand,

32:13

Her. Thumb to be exact, Down

32:17

to go to the many stray he

32:19

whispered. I want to talk to you.

32:22

I got to talk to you. My.

32:28

Roommate out the party am at an innocent

32:30

vision of her mother. And

32:33

then the last for convention glanced into

32:35

the eyes. Bizarre. Turn

32:38

down the side street, return. And

32:40

drive straight to the many our clan. Decry

32:43

to the speaking to. Amri

32:47

sank back against the cushions with a sigh

32:50

of relief. I

32:52

can kiss or a done. I'll bet

32:54

I can. I'll bet I can.

32:59

Over the sky was have crystal

33:01

on have misty. And the

33:03

night around was chill and byron with a rich

33:06

tension. From

33:08

the country club stamps, the road stretched

33:10

away. Dark Greece's and the

33:12

white blanket. Huge

33:15

heaps of snow lying the sides like

33:17

the tracks. A giant malls. They

33:20

linger for a moment on the steps. And

33:23

watch the way holiday moon. Pale.

33:27

Moon like the on. Amri

33:29

made a big just. Make.

33:32

People. Mysterious. You

33:35

look like a young which were there kappa than

33:37

our era sort a must. For.

33:40

Hands clutched at her hair. Oliva.

33:43

It looks good. They.

33:47

Drifted at the stairs and Myra lead the

33:49

way and a little dan of his dreams.

33:52

Were. A cozy fire was burning before a

33:54

big sink down couch. a

33:58

few years later This was to

34:00

be a great stage for Amory, a

34:02

cradle for many an emotional crisis. Now

34:07

they talked for a moment about bobbing parties.

34:11

There's always a bunch of shy fellas, he

34:14

commented, sitting at the tail of the

34:16

bob, sorta lurking and

34:18

whispering and pushing each other off. Then

34:21

there's always some crazy girl, he

34:23

gave a terrifying imitation. She's

34:26

always talking hard, sorta, to the

34:28

chaperone. You're

34:31

such a funny boy, puzzled Myra. How

34:35

do you mean? Amory gave

34:37

immediate attention on his own ground

34:40

at last. Always

34:43

talking about crazy things. Why

34:45

don't you come skiing with Marilyn and I tomorrow?

34:50

I don't like girls in the daytime, he said

34:52

shortly. And then, thinking

34:55

this a bit abrupt, he added, but

34:58

I like you. He

35:00

cleared his throat, I

35:02

like you first and second and third. Myra's

35:06

eyes became dreamy. What

35:09

a story this would make to tell Marilyn. Here

35:13

on the couch with this wonderful looking

35:16

boy, the little fire, the

35:18

sense that they were alone in the great building. Myra

35:23

capitulated, the atmosphere

35:25

was too appropriate. I

35:28

like you the first 25, she confessed, her

35:31

voice trembling, and Froggy Parker,

35:33

26. Froggy

35:37

had fallen 25 places in one hour,

35:41

as yet, he had not even noticed that. But

35:46

Amory, being on the spot, leaned over

35:49

quickly and kissed Myra's cheek. He

35:52

had never kissed a girl before, and

35:54

he tasted his lips curiously, as

35:57

if he had munched some new fruit. Then

36:01

their lips brushed like young wildflowers in

36:03

the wind. We're

36:07

awful, rejoiced Myra gently. She

36:10

slipped her hand into his, her head

36:12

drooped against his shoulder. Sudden

36:15

revulsion seized Amory, disgust,

36:18

loathing for the whole incident. He

36:22

desired frantically to be away, never

36:25

to see Myra again, never

36:27

to kiss anyone. He

36:29

became conscious of his face and hers,

36:32

of their clinging hands, and

36:34

he wanted to creep out of his body and hide

36:36

somewhere safe out of sight, up

36:38

in the corner of his mind. Kiss

36:44

me again, her voice came out of

36:46

a great void. I

36:49

don't want to, he heard himself saying. There

36:52

was another pause. I

36:55

don't want to, he repeated passionately.

37:00

Myra sprang up, her cheeks

37:03

pink with bruised vanity, the

37:05

great bow on the back of her head

37:07

trembling sympathetically. I

37:10

hate you, she cried. Don't

37:12

you ever dare speak to me again. What?

37:19

stammered Amory. I'll

37:21

tell Mama you kissed me. I

37:23

will too, I will too. I'll

37:27

tell Mama and she won't let me play

37:29

with you. Amory

37:33

rose and stared at her helplessly, as

37:36

though she were a new animal of whose presence

37:38

on the earth yet not heretofore been aware. The

37:43

door opened suddenly and Myra's

37:45

mother appeared on the threshold, fumbling

37:48

with her lornee. Well,

37:51

she began, adjusting it benignly.

37:55

The man at the desk told me you two children were up

37:57

here. How do you do, Amory?

38:01

Amory watched Myra and waited for

38:03

the crash, but none came. The

38:07

pout faded, the high pink

38:09

subsided, and Myra's voice was

38:11

placid as a summer lake when she answered

38:13

her mother. Oh,

38:17

we started so late, Mama, that

38:19

I thought we might as well. He

38:23

heard from below the shrieks of laughter and

38:26

smelled the vapid odor of hot chocolate

38:28

and tea cakes as he silently followed

38:30

mother and daughter downstairs. The

38:34

sound of the graphophone mingled with the

38:36

voices of many girls humming in the

38:38

air, and a faint glow

38:40

was born and spread over him. Casey

38:44

Jones mounted to the cabin. Casey

38:47

Jones with his orders in his hand.

38:51

Casey Jones mounted to the cabin. He

38:54

took his farewell journey to the Promised

38:56

Land. Thank

39:06

you for listening to Sleepy. Goodnight.

39:24

Thank you.