Chapter Twenty-One
Henry Lageule continued to laugh uproariously for full five minutes after Parsons had made his indignant departure. Gwen joined in the mirth, her peal of joyous laughter sounding out high and clear.
Lily and Harold sat up on their mattress, smiling and looking around them with puzzled expressions.
"What is it?" Lily asked finally, when the mirth had sub-sided somewhat. "What's so funny?"
"Well," said Gwen, almost hiccuping, "Well ... it's just Parsons-he's so funny! He was here the other night ... " at the memory of Parson's peremptory commands, she burst into renewed laughter.
"But what's this about his 'partner?' " queried Harold "were you his partner? In what way?"
"Well," replied Lageuele, "I was, in a word, a cop. I pa-trolled with him-and that's called partners."
Harold and Lily stared in amazement at the young French-Canadian, their mouths open in astonishment.
"A cop?" said Lily, finally. "You mean a policeman!"
Lageule nodded, still grinning widely.
Harold Taylor rose hurriedly from his position on the mattress and crossed the room to the couch.
"Look, young man," he said quickly, "I think there's been some misunderstanding here-" He was hurriedly picking up his scattered items of clothing, preparatory to putting them on, eyeing Lageule out of the corner of his eye the whole time. "However, if you think I ... I mean, I have some rights as a citizen, you know ... " He jumped speedily into his boxer-shorts.
Lageule caught on. "Oh, for St. Anselm's sake, Harold, sacre bleu-I'm not a cop now!"
Harold looked at him suspiciously, one leg upraised above his trousers.
"No, really," insisted Lageule. "Actually I haven't yet quit officially-I don't even know if I'll bother-but I certainly never intend to go back to that job. An I am certainly, without doubt or question, here just as an ordinary guy!"
Harold looked for confirmation to his wife and daughter. Gwen smiled and nodded her head. Lily shrugged.
"How would I know?" she said. "I just got here before you did. But he does seem an honest young man-he has an honest pecker."
Harold, mollified, let his trousers fall again to the floor. He sat down, still clad in his boxer-shorts, on the couch. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
Finally, he said, "You mean, then, that you're actually out of a job?" He looked at Lageule intently.
Lageule shrugged slightly. "Yeah, I guess so-I haven't really thought about the whole thing very much." He grinned at Gwen. "I've been sort of ... busy!" he explained to her father.
Harold smiled in recognition, and Lily giggled cheerfully. "I'll say!" she volunteered.
"Well, what are you going to do now-are you just going to become a Hippie?" pursued Harold Taylor.
Gwen jumped up and went towards the kitchen. "I'll make some tea and sandwiches," she said over her shoulder. "I, for one, am starving."
"Make some coffee for me, please." Harold called after her. "Well, young man ... ?"
"Obviously, I'll have to find some kind of work," Lageule was saying. "But it will certainly be very different from what I used to do. I've had my eyes opened to a few things in the last couple of days-and so I'd want a job that allowed me more freedom. Personal freedom, I mean, so I could live my life as I wanted."
"Umm-hmm," Harold nodded. He frowned and remained silent in deep thought for a few moments. "It's interesting," he said finally, "because I feel like my eyes have been opened too. I mean ... well, the idea of getting up early, and going to work tomorrow-it just seems silly."
Gwen came in, carrying a laden tea-tray. "But Daddy," she said, "even I work you know. I mean Hippies, as you call them, don't necessarily not work."
"Oh, I know that," said Harold, "but all the same it seems that you could be doing something that wasn't quite so ... boring."
"I know what, Harold!" Lily piped up suddenly, her voice excited. "I just had a great idea! You need a vacation, and I just have begun to get to know you again-we neither of us have seen Gwen for a long time ... Let's all of us go up to the Lodge for a few days! And you can think all these things out while you relax!"
"Hmm," said Harold. "Might be a darn good idea!"
"The Lodge?" murmured Lageule.
"Oh, my parents have a ski-lodge up in the Laurentians," explained Gwen, "though it's not used for skiing much!"
Lily giggled. "It tends to be used more for ... entertaining," she said with a grin.
"Well," said Lageule, "that's fine with me. Let's all go!"
"Fine," said Harold. "Maybe we should all get some sleep first. I'll take Lily home now, and we'll pack and so on, and then we'll come by and pick you up tomorrow."
"Okay, sounds good," said Gwen. "That'll give Henri time to go back to his place and pick up some warmer clothes."
The four of them lingered a while longer, getting dressed, chatting amicably, and eating the sandwiches and drinking the tea and coffee.
Then, arranging to meet the next day at two, Lily and Harold took their leave. A few moments later, Lageule gave a last pinch to Gwen's gorgeous, luscious ass, and went back to his own apartment, to find and pack all the warm sweaters and heavy scarves he possessed.