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besides
    my work on Chap. 43.
    Doped out a name index of the characters in the book this morning.
    It’s all falling into place. I should have no trouble with names in the
    final draft, as long as I don’t get fancy with any of them. Can’t wait
    to see how beautiful it will look when I’m all done.
    Later: Finished Chap. 43 tonight, right on schedule.
    * * * *
    April 10, 1978

    60

    Ripped off Chapter 44 tonight. A notebook draft and then a retype.
    I like it. I have this feeling that it’s really rolling along now, that I
    might be finished with the beast real soon, perhaps sooner than I
    expected.
    How about by next week? Maybe.
    Seven more days. Can’t stop pushing now, gotta get it done. I am
    obsessed with it from the time I get up in the morning until the time I
    go to sleep at night. No doubt there will still be more revising and
    polishing to do but for the most part it is nearing completion.
    The Dark City is about to emerge in finished form. I can hardly
    wait to see it through.
    I’m almost there.
    I’m almost done.
    What a fantastic accomplishment!
    * * * *
    April 16, 1978
    Leanne showed up out of the blue on Wednesday. Put the book off
    to entertain her. We had a deluxe dinner at the Windward Inn
    restaurant, got stoned, drank wine, and went dancing afterwards. The
    whole time we talked. And talked.
    She’s a girl that likes to talk, and I am a boy that likes talking to a
    girl that likes to talk. And, I must admit, Leanne is usually enjoyable
    company. When the bar closed, we came here and went to bed.
    Leanne wouldn’t fool around, though, because she doesn’t think we
    should become "involved" like that, either now or in the future. I was
    persistent, but finally gave up. Her reasons for saying no were pretty
    convincing.
    Still, we slept in the same bed for the first time in many a moon.
    We talked for a long time before we went to sleep. Leanne said she is
    still very fond of me and said I am very special to her. However, we
    were not and never had been right for each other as a couple.
    Without thinking about what I was saying, I confessed that I had
    cheated on her while we were together. Leanne said it didn’t matter
    because she had cheated on me as well.

    61

    What? This was news. Beyond that she wouldn’t elaborate.
    Adamantly refused. Some mysteries will remain unsolved, I suppose.
    "And that other thing," she said, meaning the baby we gave up for
    adoption eight years ago, "don’t even think about bringing that up, do
    you hear me?"
    "Not a word," I promised.
    Then we talked about life and relationships and all their attendant
    problems. I had already described in detail how things went wrong
    between Polly Ellsworth and me, expressing the wish that I had the
    chance to do it over again.
    "That skinny brunette who went to nursing school?" Leanne said.
    "Your brother Mick told me about her."
    "Yeah? He did?"
    Leanne shook her head and said not to worry, that any woman who
    got down on me the way Polly did had no idea what the hell she was
    talking about.
    "What do you mean?" I said.
    "Patrick, you were 19 and I was 18 when we moved into that house
    in Springfield. Remember? You and I lived together for two and a
    half years. I know you. I’ve seen you at your best and at your worst.
    Your best was simply wonderful. And at your worst you never did
    anything that made me feel scared or unloved. From the beginning, I
    knew I was safe around you and liked you as a person. You were also
    very, very attractive. I saw how other women looked at you. Part of
    the reason why I broke up with you was to let you find a woman who
    was more your type, which I was realistic enough to know that I am
    not. I figured you would scurry on back to that Marie woman you
    were so hot for in Atlanta but for some reason you stuck around here
    instead."
    "I probably should have gone back," I said, "given the way things
    turned out. Instead I blew Marie off."
    Leanne shrugged. "Well, what’s done is done. I know