In Over Her Head by Elsie Russell - Parnasse.com

it was soda pop! You'll be dead before you're thirty, kiddo. Why
dontcha start smoking while you're at it, or get banged up in Bangkok,
speed things up! No use being half-assed about these things, no sirree!"
He turned to Penny and said in his pretentious, arty voice,
"And thank you, Miss Bell, for the compliments, maybe you should
think about art criticism as a respectable career alternative to, em -
'musical' composition? Or is it de-composition? Hangh, hangh. Oh, and
don't listen to the Latin 'hothead' over there. You see, he's a diagnosed
perfectionist-type narcissist, hmm, something like that, shrink says so,
anyway. Doesn't trust a soul, not even me! And after all these years! I
literally brought those boys up! Isn't that right, Sandro?"
Incredulous, Alessandro pursed his lips. "I do not have a
shrink!" was all he could say.
Fingertips in his pockets, Dick spun back to the window and
sighed into the glass, making those big fog circles. Alessandro also
sighed and shook his head, punching in a number.
"Allo, Cyber Ciné? Allo, oui, eh bien, j'ai telephoné hier,
cherchant Mademoiselle Ula Nova, qui a rendézvous chez vous vers
quatorze heures et demi, je pense. Oui? Allo?" Alessandro slapped the
phone shut and grabbed Penny's arm tight.
"She is there now. We go to the studio!"
Dick minced towards them, his hands still in his pockets. "I'll
call Yusef. The rain could start up again any minute, kids," he said in
his normal, nasal, voice.
"No, it will take too long, we take le Metro." Alessandro turned
to Penny and hissed in her ear, "Bring your passport!"
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