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The Child-Eight The Child - Eight partied and drank with sheer exhilaration, but coming home drunk every night, grabbing a few hours’ sleep in his room and then trying to work his shift with a hangover soon diminished his enthusiasm. He was young and healthy, but keeping up with Jill, he came to realize, could kill a horse. The next night when Jill came to get him for their usual trip into town, Ted suggested they stay home instead and get a little rest for a change. “ Tm not tired,” she laughed. “Come _ on, everybody’s already down there. Let’s go.” “No, really, not tonight,” he shook his head. ‘They won’t miss us this once.” “Well, I'll miss them!” Jill said with a hint of anger. “What do you want to do around here, anyway? Read?” “Yeah, maybe I will,” he replied. “But you go on if you like, with everybody else, and maybe I’ll see you later.” He could tell Jill was determined to party, and just because he wasn’t didn’t mean that she shouldn’t have some fun. “Fine,” Jill said flippantly. “Enjoy your book, Ted.” Then she was out the door and gone without a backward look. He felt guilty for a moment. Jill was young and free, determined to make up for all the years she’d spent being serious and responsible and good. If she wanted to overin- dulge a little, Ted told himself, well, then, why not? He understood, or at least he thought he did. But he was more mature himself, an old hand at this fast- lane living, with four whole months of freedom under his belt. He was a veteran now of making life-changing deci- sions, and when he had opted to drop out of college, Ted had begun to see other possibilities for the future. As he watched the daily operations of the Lodge, he was surprised to find that the business side of things actually interested him. While in college, his studies had no particular direction, and career decisions seemed far in the distance. Observing an enterprise like Sun Valley Lodge from the inside was an eye-opener. He had always had a good head for numbers, and he soon realized that such a skill could be made to pay. The financial and practical side of business was easy for him to grasp. It seemed a good idea to find out all he “Come on, Masquerade of Angels 66 could about it, so Ted began to study. He was over twenty years old, and it was time to think about his future. Someone had given him a book, THE PETER PRINCIPLE, by Laurence J. Peter, and that night he read the first few pages with rapt attention. A knock at the door sometime later surprised him, and Ted glanced up. The clock said it was much later than he thought. The door opened, and Jill walked in, a bit wobbly. “Hey, Ted,” she said, “you really missed the fun tonight.” She plopped down on the bed and reeled backward, laughing as Ted reached out to catch her. “Yeah, and you’re going to hurt tomorrow,” he replied. “I’m putting you to bed before you fall down and break something. Come on, hold on to me.” He got her to her feet and started down the hall to the women’s wing, but Jill was difficult to control in her inebri- ated condition. “Wish you had been there,” she said, bouncing against him playfully. “I woulda had lots more fun with you.” “Tf you had had any more fun,” he told her, “‘you’d be crawling, Jill.” They squeezed through the doorway into her room, and Ted helped her lie down in the dark. She tried to say some- thing as he pulled a blanket up over her, but then she rolled over and passed out. The next night, Ted went with Jill to the bar, and this time he made a point to notice just how much she drank. When she ordered the fourth one, he suggested than maybe she had had enough, but Jill ignored him. By the time she finished off her fifth, Ted couldn’t get her to sit down. She wanted to dance, and if Ted wouldn’t do it, there were plenty of others who would. “No,” he insisted. “Let’s go home now. You’ve worn me out.” Jill pulled away defiantly. “Forget it,” she said. “You’re not any fun. What’s wrong with you?” “T can’t do this any more,” he replied in exasperation. “T’ve had enough, and I’m leaving. If you want to come with me, you better get your things now.” Masquerade of Angels 67