79 Park Avenue Read Online Free PDF Page A

lips. She stepped partly behind the display stand and looked up into his face.
    His face was flushed and there were beads of moisture on his upper lip. His mouth worked tensely, but no words came out
    Her smile grew broader. "What, Mr. Rannis?"

    His hand reached toward her. She stood very still. "Don't they ever want to touch you?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
    She looked down at his hand a few inches from her and then up at his face. "Where?" she asked.
    He brushed his fingertips against the front of her blouse lightly. The firm flesh sent a flame up his fingers. "Here?" he asked tensely, watching her face for signs of fear.
    There were none. She jiidn't even make a move to get away from him. Instead she smiled. "Oh," she answered. "Yes, Mr. Rannis. All the time."
    Her answer took him by surprise. He almost forgot that he was holding her. "You let them?"
    Her eyes were still frankly fixed on his. "Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. It depends on how I feeL If I like it." She turned slightly, moving away from him. "My candy, Mr. Rannis," she said, holding out her hand.
    Without thinking, he gave it to her. He stared at her, the memory of her breasts in his fingers still flooding his mind. "You want to see the paint job in the back room?" he asked.
    She didn't answer, just looked at him as she unwrapped the bar and bit it slowly.
    "If you come in the back," he said anxiously. "Maybe if you're real nice, I'll forget about the three and a quarter you owe me."
    She swallowed a piece of the candy and looked at him reflectively. Then, without answering, she turned and started for the door.
    "Marja!" he called after her in a pleading voice. "I'll even give you some money!"
    She paused at the marble-topped counter and picked up her cigarettes and a few matches, then continued on to the door. She started to open it

    "Marja!" the old man pleaded. "Ill give you anything you want!"
    She stood there a moment, her hand on the door before answering. When she did speak, he realized that she had been thinking over her reply.
    "No, Mr. Rannis," she said politely in her husky voice. *1 ain't ready for yuh. Not just yet."
    The door closed behind her and the store seemed dull and empty without the bright, flashing gold of her hair. Wearily, as if he had been in battle, he turned and went into the back room.
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    Chapter 2
    THE EARLY Junc sun had baked the city streets to a soft spongelikc asphalt surface that clung maliciously to the feet and nrnde every step an effort. It bounced wildly off the flat concrete walls of the tenements and beat against the face Uke the licking flame of an open fire.
    She hesitated a moment in the doorway of the store before stepping into the inferno of the street. Slowly she ate the last of the candy bar while her eyes scanned the street for signs of life.
    It was almost deserted except for a few children who were playing down near the corner of Second Avenue. One lone woman came out of Hochmeyer's Pork Store carrying a shopping-bag and made her way up the blocTc. A taxi roared down the street, leaving bluish tracks in the pavement
    The candy was finished, and carefully she wiped her fingers on the wrapper and threw the paper into the gutter. She sUpped the cigarettes into a small purse and stepped

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    Book One. Marja 35
    down onto the sidewalk. The heat and the sun hit her face and she blinked her eyes rapidly. She could feel the perspiration spring out like a flood all over her body. For a moment she regretted not having stayed in the candy store and played the old man along for a Uttle while. At least it was almost cool in there.
    She headed up the street toward her house reluctantly. The clock in one of the store windows told her it was near three. She hesitated. If it weren't so warm she wouldn't be going home, but only a fool would stay out on the street on a day like this. She wished she had the money to go to the show. The RKO 86th Street Theatre had a cooUng-system. Fans blowing over big cakes of ice.