In Over Her Head by Elsie Russell - Parnasse.com

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curled in fetal position from nightmares. Penny got up and opened the drapes half way. Under the weak sun a hazy steam rose from the Tuileries gardens, and chased away the night's chill. A great day for a hike. "Penelope, amore mio, vieni qui." Music, the way he transformed a name she'd never liked. And how she loved sex in the morning, it was like melting into the sea, the biggest, warmest sea of all. Breakfast came and the steward pocketed his crisp golden euros. Penny went straight for the coffee, to hammer herself back into reality. He also seemed distracted, but then, he often was in the morning. "What X piece do we hear tonight?" "Jonchaies, my favorite!" "Palude—Marsh weeds? Maybe the wind." "Yeah? I guess that's it." "Does it sound like wind?" "You heard some last night." "No! That is not right!" "It's not program music, it's more hallucinatory. Clusters of polyrhythms, um, sonic clumps. Each plant has four or five reeds, you know, and they interact with each other, together in the wind, so it be<strong>com</strong>es a changing pattern field in the wind, moving moiré like, um —" His phone rang. "Allo?" He shut his eyes and listened, nodded every so often. Had to be Dick. "Aspetta un momento." He muted the phone. "Ula and Dick want us there for lunch. He says she is much better." "It's your call, but after last night, are you sure?" "It will be better. We do it for her." He turned it back on. "Okay, when? We are having breakfast now. Yes, I know how late it is. No, no, bene. Ciao." Turning to the window, he looked straight in their direction. "At one we go." "Right." "Aah, no work today." "Yeah, I was hoping to take a walk anyway, it's gorgeous out." "So we do an early passeggiata." "Then dinner and the concert." "To celebrate this most beautiful day!" He stretched up his arms and roared like a lion. They strolled along arm in arm down the gravel alleys under the 207
are trees, along rows of empty green chairs, around the shuttered refreshment kiosks, the sputtering, glittering fountain, and up a few steps to the Carrousel. They turned right, under the arches of the Louvre to cross over to the Left Bank. The river danced in the sharp sunlight. They stopped to watch a barge chug <strong>by</strong> underneath, it had lace curtains but no geraniums. 208
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elsie russell in over her head ...l
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IN OVER HER HEAD by Elsie Russell
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For Robert Déscharnes
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CANAL STREET There was another cust
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some were balancing bamboo poles ac
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heaved and spun slowly out of contr
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with me, her place just got broken
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"Wait! Miss Nova, uh, Ula, get up,
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and―" "Sure, control is the artis
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laptop gone too. Stereo and speaker
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this guy's part in all this? The bo
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grinning ear to ear over on the sof
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used in a dance piece, not to menti
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said, "Hey, do you mind? I've got a
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echarger. "Hey, ever the hear this
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third degree anyway. Like a flock o
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CHEZ SCHWANZ The two Eames chairs d
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Monde, also the initiating cause of
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He didn't wake when the stewardess
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apron. "This is Inez, she will show
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white leather sofa with some kind o
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it was soda pop! You'll be dead bef
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he sees you without your sompteuse
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around, slamming on their brakes, t
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him, to get him back to reality, wh
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like everyone else, so their voices
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"Again, the rain!" Rubbing her hip,
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storekeepers. The red faced blue co
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eally depressed and needy types, it
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urned cigarette into the ashtray. S
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her neck over her navy blue house d
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a son. But then, what do you know,
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Lucien chuckled and left for the be
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education, and motivation." Maia no
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A leopard canvas futon strewn with
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contraband, the labels are in Russi
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door. "We will call tomorrow, early
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It is an honor to lose!" "Yeah, con
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Penny stifled a yawn. "You want to
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DICK SCHWANZ HAS A CHANGE OF HEART
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Dick poured himself a jigger, squir
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DISTURBING DISCOVERIES A greenish g
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"Yeah, could be." "What's on the vi
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her feet in dirty white bunny slipp
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sucked in his cheeks as he vacuumed
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Maia drained her cup hurriedly as s
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"Hospital? You can wait eighteen ho
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BEATRICE She stood back lit under t
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standing in the doorway. "Ah! Manag
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urbanization. This is how our poor
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Fantasy in C Minor? I've been waiti
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From Greek god to cubist collage, h
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ULA AND NG Ng dragged Ula into Cybe
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He tossed her the suit from the flo
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ight up your alley, my alley, our s
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AT THE LOUVRE Penny got her knapsac
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"Yeah, let me show you something."
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uxom goddesses. She turned right, d
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fresh air. Under the high vaulted c
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crisscrossing the lawn. "How do you
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Alessandro's room was similar to he
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"But she does mine!" "That figures.
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ouncy fake breasts sudsed her hair.
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"Right. Well, you seem normal enoug
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AMORE Penny collapsed into the duve
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passwords, and seemed just a little
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"But it is the Annunciation! There
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was stuck. All this passive-aggress
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eyes shut. "Now mama wants to keep
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Signora sustained a cheerful banter
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her bathroom as fast as she could,
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style guest supplies of nail clippe
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eyed into empty space. "This is the
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ought out a picture of two boys in
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BATS IN THE BELFRY Downstairs in th
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packing. "Holy shit!" Penny blurted
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Ula brushed her leg through and spr
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as a dream, as she often fell aslee
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need a hard copy. Penny, do you hav
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around and worked her way through t
Page 163 and 164: one of those pins you could have he
Page 165 and 166: "I am glad you asked, Penny." She w
Page 167 and 168: "'Bout what?" "That I doubted your
Page 169 and 170: They worked into the night tighteni
Page 171 and 172: ROMAN HOLIDAY Between rows of sleek
Page 173 and 174: dainty Parisian heels like the runw
Page 175 and 176: "Is the truth!" "Okay, okay," Penny
Page 177 and 178: "Weird science." Ula gave Penny's r
Page 179 and 180: THE ANGEL'S TOMB "This is where Had
Page 181 and 182: "I get the picture, I get it, okay?
Page 183 and 184: and the face was not Abe Lincoln's.
Page 185 and 186: sisters, eat boiled dandelions and
Page 187 and 188: Sandro carried Ula on the plane and
Page 189 and 190: under a lot of stress back there."
Page 191 and 192: Ula didn't wake when the water ran.
Page 193 and 194: "Shut up! What's so funny?" "Your f
Page 195 and 196: He smashed his head into the door.
Page 197 and 198: "Thanks, my name is Penelope Bell,
Page 199 and 200: his hand on the table. The sound of
Page 201 and 202: hand. He flashed one of those tiny
Page 203 and 204: was an American made disk, USA dot
Page 205 and 206: "Yes, we go dance, eat oysters and
Page 207 and 208: her swirl of sea foam Dior drinking
Page 209 and 210: think?" He started to say more, but
Page 211 and 212: was imprisoned and sentenced to dea
Page 213: deconstructed, mechanistic stuff, a
Page 217 and 218: Shit, Ula, I'm not twelve, and you'
Page 219 and 220: She pointed with the drumstick. "Ho
Page 221 and 222: where it hit her. He might be there
Page 223 and 224: OBELISK And he wasn't there when sh
Page 225 and 226: of the Tuileries. After a brisk wal
Page 227 and 228: Ula stifled a giggle. Penny frowned
Page 229 and 230: "Oh, ith it rillee?" Loulou said in
Page 231 and 232: "So, the face?" Sandro didn't cring
Page 233 and 234: you had a super time. When's the gr
Page 235 and 236: littered with greasy paper plates o
Page 237 and 238: the bathroom or brush her teeth, bu
Page 239 and 240: of spacious skies and smack into hi
Page 241 and 242: wall, but the Madonna didn't seem t
Page 243 and 244: ubbles were clumps of toga clad god
Page 245 and 246: her hot cup. "Why did you want me t
Page 247 and 248: like suburban USA except for the fl
Page 249 and 250: sandal and jumped into the sand and
Page 251 and 252: metal tower. "The Parachute Jump, k
Page 253 and 254: demarcations, but careful to hide a
Page 255 and 256: WANDERLUST Penny made for the East
Page 257 and 258: clear her seething brain. It didn't
Page 259 and 260: DESPERATE MOVES Sounds of laughter
Page 261 and 262: Sandro's jaw dropped. "Funcullo," h
Page 263 and 264: glimpse of bare chested Sandro and
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at least once, but her knees gave w
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SANDRO HAS AN ADVENTURE Picking out
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you were the professional here," Sa
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pulled down his face so he became a
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Catholic. Someone had been thoughtf
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so he wrenched open the door. The m
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GULAG Medical people shuffled aroun
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they were subjected to endless runs
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FROM OBSCURITY TO CLARITY The MRI r
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normal way. But how did you flush?
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churning clouds. "I was at Nha Tran
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stuck out from under his arm, catch
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from the first breakdown, then 'Gel
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LA GRENOUILLE Dr Züt got up from h
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THE WILIS From Ula's studio, "I don
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He giggled, "Yes, them." She clappe
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SHOWDOWN After that Penny saw neith
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folding metal cot all neatly made u
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"No booze." "No! Em, perhaps a dess
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ought her bowls and flexi-mat with
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Ula walked up to her and slapped he
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scrunched it up and lunged at him,
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instant karma, who can beat that?"
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He got up, patted the lute dust off
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EPILOGUE Rumor has it, five years l
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Biography Elsie Russell's bohemian
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