Hide and Seek

Mass. who died a Virgin October 12,1797, aged 36. Who hath not ever

sinned. It was the oldest stone we'd seen there.

"Poor lady. Maybe she should have met up with Bill Trumbell over

there."

The match went out and she lit a third one. An angel was carved over

the inscription, almost weathered away. The stone was rough, pitted by

wind and rain. You could see the slight indentation where the stone

had uprooted itself, just as hallow dip in the soil by now. I stood

up.

"Let's go."

"Wait."

The match flickered away again. I'd been working so hard to read that

for a moment everything went black. Then my eyes adjusted to the

moonlight.

The pullover blouse lay beside her. She was naked to the waist, her

breasts and belly and shoulders naked, and she was reaching for

"Come on. Right on top of Elizabeth Cotton, virgin."

"It's silly."

"You think uY?"

I watched her lean back and slip the jeans down off her thighs, the

thin panties folding away with them, graceful as a snake shedding its

skin. She tossed them away and lay back against the cool earth,

reached over her head and took one side of the headstone of Elizabeth

Cotton in each hand. In the moonlight her tanned flesh looked

unnaturally pale. She smiled at me and moved against the stunted

grass.

"Come on. I want you in me."

Justa whisper. Like a razor sliding through paper. Itseemedto force

the blood through my veins and trigger a heavy pounding in my chest. I

wanted her. With all I'd seen of her tonight, I wanted her worse than

ever. I felt like a man in a life jacket who finally accepts