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  Except: a fleck of lint on his lapel caught Tristram’s eye, and he brushed it irritably away. Even in death poor grooming would be inexcusable. And God knows he needed a fresh haircut and a shave—the bracing restorative shave that only a gentlemen’s barber, in an exclusive European-style hotel, can provide. And—where was his eau de cologne Narcisse? He glanced about, frowning, his irritation rapidly mounting.

  It was low blood sugar merely. He was ravenous with hunger, and very thirsty. Time to dine? What time was it? Too much thinking! conscience pricking! It got on a man’s nerves! it did not amuse! A vision of lightly poached oysters topped with caviar shimmered before him, his mouth watered at the prospect of a fine crisp chardonnay.… Yes, but he would begin with a scotch on the rocks. It was that hour of the day, and more than that hour. Already he had turned from the window, the telephone receiver in his hand; already he had dialed a familiar number, and a cultured voice at the other end answered, “Le Bec Fin, how can we help you?”

  “A table for one, ‘Heade’ the name, in twenty minutes—thank you.”

  An unhurried, meditative meal; an evening’s rich, stimulating self-examination; a contemplation of possibilities for the future—in this way, Tristram had no doubt, the issue would be resolved.

  About the Author

  Joyce Carol Oates was born in Lockport, New York. After graduating from high school, she attended Syracuse University and then earned her master of arts from the University of Wisconsin–Madison before becoming a full-time writer. In 1963, she published her first book, the short story collection By the North Gate, and in 1964, when she was twenty-six years old, her first novel, With Shuddering Fall. Oates has written over forty works, many of which have won awards, including the National Book Award for them (1969), two O. Henry Awards, four Bram Stoker Awards, a World Fantasy Award, the National Humanities Medal, the Norman Mailer Prize for Lifetime Achievement, and the Stone Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement. Black Water (1992), What I Lived For (1994), Blonde (2000), and Lovely, Dark, Deep (2014) were Pulitzer Prize finalists, and her 1996 novel We Were the Mulvaneys was a New York Times bestseller. Under the pen names Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly, she published eleven psychological suspense novels, including Snake Eyes (1992), Double Delight (1997), and Starr Bright Will Be with You Soon (1999). While writing and publishing books, Oates taught at the University of Windsor in Canada from 1968 to 1978, and then moved to New Jersey, where she currently teaches in Princeton University’s creative writing program as the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities. She also teaches creative writing courses at New York University, Stanford University, and the University of California, Berkeley.

  All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 1995 by The Ontario Review

  Cover design by Mauricio Díaz

  ISBN: 978-1-5040-4518-6

  This edition published in 2017 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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  JOYCE CAROL OATES

  WRITING AS ROSAMOND SMITH

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