Myra-Breckinridge-Gore-Vidal

at the Mexican border and held on suspicion of smugglingmarijuana into the States. Fortunately, there was no verycompelling evidence against them, and they were let go.Nevertheless, Rusty's period of probation has beenextended, and the probation officer has asked Buck tokeep an eye on him. But Rusty had told Mary-Ann none ofthis. "You see, he was with these wild boys in Mexico andtheir car broke down and they were too broke to pay evenfor a bus ticket and so the American consul finally bailedthem out, after they were practically starving to death." Nodoubt about it, Rusty is very much a man of his era: hisfantasy life shields Mary-Ann as well as himself from thecruel disorders of reality. Though I cannot say that thepleasure of others has ever had any effect upon me exceptto produce a profound melancholy, I was almost pleased atMary-Ann's delight. "You must be very happy," I whisperedlike Phyllis Thaxter in Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, withwonderful Van Johnson. "And we want to have dinner withyou tonight, if that's all right. I told him how simply wonderfulyou've been to me while he was gone." "I'm sure you'drather have him all to yourself tonight. Besides, are you surehe wants to see me?" There was a slight hesitation,followed by much protestation to the effect that Rusty wasreally very admiring of me since I had been such a help tohim in Posture class.27It is now midnight. In many ways, a most exciting evening. I