Your Eyelids Are Growing Heavy Read Online Free PDF Page A

said.
    â€œWhere?”
    â€œPitt, Duquesne, Community College. Sometimes Carnegie-Mellon, but not this term.”
    Megan raised her eyebrows.
    â€œPart-time,” he explained. “Whenever one of the schools has one more English course than they have faculty for, they call me in.”
    â€œIf you’re teaching on the university level, you must have your doctorate—or close to it.”
    He nodded. “I have it. Got it last year.”
    Megan looked at him speculatively. “Gus, how old are you?”
    He thought about lying but told the truth. “Twenty-one.”
    â€œYou’re twenty-one years old and you’ve had your doctorate for a year?”
    He gave an embarrassed laugh. “I took every summer school course I could since I was fourteen. You can get through fast if you schedule things right.”
    Megan didn’t quite believe that, but she didn’t contradict him. Gus was probably trying to avoid the boy-genius tag. “So now you’re teaching—part-time?”
    â€œFor now. Until I decide what I want to do. Teaching’s all right, for a while. Nobody’ll offer me a full-time contract, because I’m too young. Industry doesn’t want Ph.D.s—they don’t trust them.”
    Megan smiled. “How about writing the Great American Whatsit?”
    â€œMaybe someday,” he said vaguely. “When I have something to say.”
    She noted he’d said when and not if . Gus had lost most of his nervousness, as people generally do when given a chance to talk about themselves. “Gus, you heard me when I came in tonight? In the lobby, I mean.”
    He nodded.
    â€œAnd Sunday?”
    â€œI hear when everybody comes in. The walls are thin.”
    She tried to make her voice casual. “Did you hear me come in last Friday?”
    â€œFriday?” He looked surprised.
    â€œI can’t remember what time I got home from work, and I’d like to know, that’s all. You wouldn’t happen to know, would you?”
    He glanced away. “You didn’t come home Friday night.”
    â€œNow, Gus, how can you be sure of that?” she said tightly.
    â€œThe lobby is directly over my desk.” He nodded his head toward his bedroom. “The floor isn’t carpeted. I can hear people moving around.”
    â€œBut how do you know who ’s moving around? How do you know when it’s me?”
    â€œYour walk,” he said. “There are only four women in this building—you and Andrea Brownlee and Mrs. Frazier and Mrs. Atkins. You all have a different walk.”
    â€œAnd you didn’t hear my walk Friday night?”
    Gus looked uncomfortable. “No.”
    â€œWhat about Saturday?”
    â€œI wasn’t here all day Saturday.”
    â€œSaturday night?”
    He looked even more uncomfortable. “I didn’t hear you Saturday night either.”
    Megan’s face took on a pinched look and her eyes turned inward. She was silent so long that Gus began to fidget.
    Finally he couldn’t stand it any longer. “Megan, what’s wrong?” he blurted out. “Why are you asking me whether you came home or not? Don’t you know?”
    Megan grunted; she hadn’t handled that any too subtly. Oh, what the hell. “No, I don’t know. All I know is that I woke up on the Schenley Park golf course Sunday morning. I have no idea how I got there.”
    Gus’s mouth dropped open and his bulging eyes bulged even more. “You woke up on … Megan, tell me about it.”
    â€œI just did. I left work late Friday afternoon and I woke up in Schenley Park Sunday morning. I have no memory of anything that happened in between.”
    He let out a low whistle. “Have you seen somebody about it?”
    â€œI just now got back from talking to a psychiatrist.”
    â€œWhat did he say?”
    â€œShe. She said get a physical examination, find out if