Bereavements Read Online Free PDF

that peculiar lifeless quality of having been carefully retouched.
    The eyes, however, told the truth: they’d lived much longer than the air-brushed cheeks and forehead, and they weren’t twins, exactly—the left one slightly narrowed, cunning, hinting a telltale hardness.
    But how unfair she was! A self-styled physiognomist who knew nothing about the subject whatsoever. She held the photo at arm’s length, determined to be kind. A handsome face, really; secretly a sad one, but to her empty. No, this “boy”— man —didn’t attract her. Here was a mask, a studied maleness. Surely the teeth were tightly clenched to create that strong, square jaw, and the long, casual, somewhat messy hair seemed on consideration less messy than artful, with its skillful carelessness.
    There was no letter or note; nothing at all, but on the back of the photo, clearly printed by letterpress or offset, and like the answers to questions required by a detailed application form, was this legend:
    Name: Nicholas (“Nicky”) Fabrizzi
    Address: 346 West 47 Street, New York, N.Y. 10038
    Telephone: (212) KL5-8643
    Age: 29
    Race: Irish, French, Italian; parents American born
    Birth-sign: Taurus
    Education: B.A., English (Brooklyn College)
    Health: Excellent
    Height: 5 11
    Weight: 165
    Hair: Dark
    Eyes: Hazel
    Neck: 15
    Chest: 36
    Arm (length) 34
    Wrist: 7
    Biceps: 12
    Forearm: 10
    Waist: 29
    Hips: 32
    Penis: (normal) 5×1½ (erect) 7×2
    Sexual character: hetero, bi (couples), homo (male-active), group, mild S/M
    Thigh: 24
    Calf: 14
    Ankle: 9
    Foot: (shoe) 8½ EE
    Head: (hat) 7¼
    Jacket: 38 regular
    Leg: (inseam) 34
    Wardrobe: adequate (including evening)
    Languages: English, Italian (restaurant French, Hungarian)
    Work: carte blanche
    Availability: pre-arranged mutual agreement

    Mrs. Evans turned the photo over for another now-slightly-more fascinated look at the astonishing Mr. Fabrizzi before placing it to one side. She possessed an extraordinary memory, one which while bordering on the photogenic, was thoroughly obsessive and uncontrolled, tending often to torture her in the manner of a nagging tune one cannot stop humming or whistling. Regrettably, this young man’s dimensions would probably haunt her for days, intruding at their pleasure regardless of situation or time. She pictured herself brushing her teeth, thinking, Leg (inseam) 34 . . .Combing her hair, Penis (erect) 7×2 . . . Sipping her cocoa, Biceps: 12 . . .Calf: 14 . . .

    The next letter, postmarked the Bronx, was from one Paulo Passannante. Mrs. Evans laughed, perceiving a penchant for attracting Italians with (at least) beautiful names.— Nicholas Fabrizzi. She liked that. And now Paulo Passannante. But then, her sweet Angel was undoubtedly Spanish, with no last name at all—not yet.
    The letter was badly, atrociously typewritten on manila paper; five, no six pages long, triple-spaced, looking as if it had been laboriously pecked out with two fingers. It began:
    “Hi-yah, Mom! — — ”
    With so spirited a salutation, Mrs. Evans paused to adjust her glasses as well as her frame of mind.
    “I lost your add but rmemered waht it said abd wrot ti it down the box number on a envelop sos I wouldnt forget and wrher to send it/ Adds are the best way to gget to knjow a lot of innerestting people and have real good times. Bet they dont alwaysmean what they say U Imus I mean i guessyou know thath because you got be to be eful careful what you say in public print— —so thats wh a y i try to read between the lines. like your ad -holy smok!!!! i din dknow wht the fuck it was - all this here shita bout your “lost” son bussiness. then I figgued out that youwas on to somethin real good wwith your “son” - meaning gyou had some real yong g y guy— —right? did i guess right????? and then it broke up for some resn reason (maube he got V.D.-- joke, ha, ha!) and now your looking to swing itwith some other real young g y guy.meb like me. im real goodlooking,noshit. and that