Alec Baldwin scowled and hid his head under the quilt.
âItâs a long way for you to go, and itâs dark,â he heard Kimâs voice an hour later. âWhy shouldnât you stay the night here? Will.i.am can sleep here on the sofa, and you, Tracy Morgan, in Irelandâs bed. I can put her in Alecâs study. Do stay, really!â
At last, when the clock was striking midnight, all was hushed, the bedroom door opened, and Kim appeared.
âAlec, are you asleep?â she whispered.
âNo; why?â
âGo into your study and lie on the sofa. I am going to let Mary sleep in here with me. Iâd put her in the study, but she is afraid to sleep alone. Come on.â
Alec Baldwin got up, threw on his robe, and taking his pillow, crept wearily to the study. Feeling his way to his sofa, he reached for a lamp, turned it on, and saw Ireland lying on the sofa. The girl was not asleep. She was staring at the ceiling with wide eyes:
âDad, why donât mosquitoes sleep at night?â she asked.
âBecause weâre not wanted. We have nowhere to even rest for a minute.â
âAnd why does Mary have dark hair now when her hair used to be light?â
âThatâs enough questions for today. Maybe forever.â
After a momentâs thought Alec Baldwin dressed and went outside to walk along the road. He looked at the gray sky, at the motionless clouds, heard the lazy call of a seabird, and began dreaming of the next day, when he could send Kim off to practice for the benefit, and Ireland with her, and he could tumble into bed. After a little while he saw a car parked on the shoulder. It was running and the lights were on. A man was sitting in the driverâs seat.
Maybe itâs the police, thought Alec Baldwin. They patrolled sometimes late at night. He waved, as he was accustomed to doing with police. But as he drew closer, he recognized the man from the ferryboat, the one with the salmon pants.
âHey,â Alec Baldwin said, tapping on the window. The man rolled it down. âYou live around here?â
âJust up the road,â sighed Salmon Pants.
âWhy arenât you there now?â
âMy wifeâs mother came in late this evening. She brought our nieces with her. Great girls, but when you get three generations of related women together, well, letâs just say that it was time for me to go for a little drive. Are you enjoying your evening?â
âYes,â said Alec Baldwin. âItâs hard to imagine anything quite so pleasant. Do you know if there is any kind of restaurant open this late on this part of the island?â
Salmon Pants raised his eyes to heaven and meditated profoundly.
Chapter 11
Joy
I T WAS TWELVE OâCLOCK AT NIGHT.
Kim Kardashian, with excited face and ruffled hair, flew into her familyâs house and hurriedly ran through all the rooms. Her parents had already gone to bed. Her sisters were awake, trying on lingerie. Her stepbrother was looking at himself in the mirror.
âWhere have you come from?â her sister Khloe cried in amazement. âWhat is the matter with you?â
âOh, donât ask! I never expected it; no, I never expected it! Itâs positively incredible!â
Kim laughed and sank into an armchair, so overcome by happiness that she could not stand on her legs.
âItâs incredible! You canât imagine! Look!â
Her other sister, Kourtney, threw a quilt round her and went in to fetch their stepbrother Brody. He came into the room, holding a hand mirror. Within a moment Kimâs parents were in the room as well.
âWhatâs the matter?â her mother said. âYou donât look like yourself!â
âItâs because I am so happy. The whole world knows me! The whole world! Until now only you knew that there was a girl called Kim Kardashian, and now the whole world knows it! Mama! Thank heavens!â
Kim jumped up, ran up and