Maura began to sculpt by carving bars of Ivory soap in her hospital bed. Simple stuff—a duck, a camel. She joined two moistened bars of soap (“a big innovation for a kid”) to form a block. She sculpted busts of her parents as she remembered them. She told Clifford that if she focused her attention on the figures she was making, the pain of life couldn’t intrude into her consciousness. She said she had never given the full version of her tragedy to anyone before. Clifford nodded sagely, then said, “Sometimes it’s easier to tell a stranger.”

“That’s so true!” Maura said. “It seems like I’ve known you all my life. Are you a Sagittarius?”

Maura kissed Clifford that night. She let him cop a feel on the second date. By the third date she took him to her bed, where, thanks to the heroin, Clifford couldn’t get it up. Maura gave him a hand job. From the sculpting, her hands were as rough as a construction worker’s. When he didn’t respond she squeezed his cock as if she were choking a chicken. With that kind of action he knew he wouldn’t come in a million years. She went down on him like a professional dick sucker. Just before he came she begged off, claiming her jaw hurt and she had drunk too much wine. As she began to snore Clifford went into the bathroom to facilitate himself.

After he got back to the bridge house, her apartment remained dark for eight days. He left phone messages that were not returned. Finally he showed up at the studio one afternoon, catching her home at last. He gave her the gold laser lighter she so admired. Why not? He hated smoking. She was so pleased, she asked him if he wanted to lie down.

“Lie down?”

“Yeah,” she said, taking his hand as she led him toward the bed. He couldn’t get it up despite the Viagra. She said she felt congested and asked him to eat her pussy. After twenty minutes of this, she said, “More pressure.”

“Huh?”

Now she was exasperated. “More pressure. You’re a big guy, use more pressure. Jesus Christ!”

He was a big guy, but he couldn’t do push-ups with his tongue. He really didn’t know what he was doing down there. His limited access to air made him snort like a hog. At last she came from the friction of his nose rubbing against her clitoris.

Back at work the next night, he’d hoped to scope out the Baby show but saw the fey dude in her Metallica T-shirt wave Maura over to a telescope! He was too stunned to move. Suddenly she was staring back at him. She flipped him the bird and killed the lights in her loft.