Condominium [antikvár]

; 1I! I1I1k ;Howard Elbright finally found Julian Higbee, the condominium^ imanager, lounging against a concrete column, staring towards theivipool area where two young women were taking turns diving from|,'r|the low board.'Excuse me,' Elbright said. 'The girl in the office thought you were maybe by the tennis courts. That's where I looked first.'Higbee, the manager, did not respond in any way. He just stood there beside Elbright, big brown arms folded, thick brown ankles crossed. He was a large and meaty fellow, and on all areas not covered by his pale blue sports shirt and his dark blue shorts, his f^ ' sun-darkened hide was fuzzed with sun-bleached white hairs. Onhis solid jowls the hair was pale stubble. Though obviously too young a fellow for a hairpiece, his auburn hair was so carefully coifed to sweep across his forehead just above eyebrow level, it looked glossy and wiglike.iHoward Elbright wondered if the fellow could be deaf and also lack peripheral vision. Alternatively, there was the possibility that Elbright himself had become invisible and inaudible, condemned forever to wander around this bright Florida island trying to join incomprehensible conversations, trying to get people to take his money in exchange for indestructible plastic merchandise. It seemed to him he had been having dreams like that lately. 'Excuse mel' he said.Without turning towards him, Higbee said, 'The so-called girl in the office is my wife. She is Mrs Higbee. Lorrie Higbee.' He spoke in a curiously loud voice, accenting every syllable, as if accustomed to speaking to the semi-deaf.''I didn't mean any'^ ''What it was about the tennis courts, it was Colonel Simmins that lives in One-G. It was Colonel Simmins telling me there are ripples in the west service court, in the second of our two tennis courts, and his serve bounces funny. He made me watch his serve bouncing funny. Okay, so it bounces funny. So, like I told him, everybody's serve bounces funny.' He spun so suddenly that heI i .'ill