Quarrel with the Moon Read Online Free PDF Page A

As he passed the bus stop a young woman waiting for the uptown express turned to openly admire Josh. He managed a self-conscious look and stifled a desire to tell her that he appreciated her appreciation of him. Josh knew that he was thought handsome by most women - Cresta had mentioned it often enough. He turned and favored her with a dazzling smile. She burst into self-conscious giggles.
    On the corner there was a newsstand where Josh picked up his morning newspaper. While he was waiting for change, his eyes scanned the magazines hanging by clothespins from wires. Cresta was on the cover of that month's Charisma , a leading fashion magazine. Josh was immediately struck by feelings of guilt, not only for the previous night and other nights in the past, but because of his playful game with the girl at the bus stop. He was, as always, incredulous that he was involved with somebody who was in some circles a celebrity. Josh touched the magazine cover with his fingertips. Cresta was wearing a designer's version of a farmgirl outfit and was posed against a background of straw. She was looking at the camera (and the viewer) with what one fashion wag had called "a million-dollar come-'n'-get-it look." Josh had seen that expression many times before. She unconsciously employed it when she was interested in having sex. The glossy cover shimmered in the sunlight, and Cresta the farmgirl was transformed into Cresta the beguiling bride. He recalled their meeting two years earlier in the spring of 1980.
    ***
    It had been a green-gold morning softened by a vaporous mist. The sun was a bright, yellow knot and Josh felt that he could reach up and pull it down from the sky. He had been up since before dawn and had already run two miles. He was about to leave Central Park by the Seventy-Second Street entrance when he was drawn to a small group of people gathered around the wisteria arbor just inside the park. At first Josh reacted like any native New Yorker and assumed that there had been some sort of trouble - an early morning mugging perhaps. Then as he came closer he noticed the lights, the reflectors and the camera. Apparently someone was shooting a photograph.
    Curious, Josh edged his way to the periphery of the busy circle of people. No one paid any attention to him. They were all involved in a magazine advertisement shoot. Everyone - photographer, art director, makeup man, wardrobe mistress, and a handful of assistants - had their attention focused on the entrance to the arbor.
    The rustic log arbor was a structure left over from the Victorian age. It formed a tunnel of sorts over and around which the grapevines grew. The spring rains had been particularly abundant that year and the arbor was replete with lush vines and leaves. A perfect spot for a lovers' meeting.
    It was then that he saw Cresta for the first time. She emerged from the dark green shadows into the filtered sunlight. She was wearing a dazzling white wedding gown, a frothy confection of organdy and lace. She smiled in Josh's direction and, although he didn't think she actually saw him, he felt as if she had favored him in particular.
    Then a short dumpy woman stepped forward brandishing a wedding veil and began to arrange it on Cresta's head. A man wearing an impatient scowl, oversized sunglasses, and a pair of brown trousers which fit him like the skin of a baked potato, walked over to Josh. His voice was high but authoritative. "Where have you been? We've been waiting to shoot for twenty minutes." He quickly surveyed Josh's face and physique with appreciation and added sharply, "Is that what Minnie told you to wear? Not very chic."
    Josh stepped back and stared at the man as if he were insane. "I don't know what you're talking about."
    "You're the model from Macho, aren't you?" the man snapped. "Six feet, ruggedly handsome, dark hair, running clothes. Now, come on, we've been waiting for you."
    "You've made a mistake," said Josh. "I was running through the park and just