"One word," Rune said. "The opposite of Open."
But then the young man in black touched the door like a curious alien and gave Rune a smile that said, How can you do this to us? He lifted his hands, pressed them together, praying, begging, then kissed his fingertips and looked directly into Rune's eyes.
Frankie called, "Like, we're closed."
Rune said, "Open it."
"What?"
"Open the door."
"But you said--"
"Open the door."
Frankie did.
The man outside said, "Just one tape, fair lady, just one. And then we'll depart from your life forever...."
"Except to return it," Rune said.
"There's that, sure," he said. Walking into the store. "But tonight, we need some amusement. Oh, sorely."
Rune said to the blond woman, "When do you have to have him back to Bellevue?"
The woman shrugged.
The Woodpecker said nothing but walked through the racks of movies, studying them while her head rocked back and forth.
"Are you members?" Rune asked.
The blonde flashed a WSV card.
"Three minutes," Rune said. "You've got three minutes."
The man: "Such a small splinter of life, don't you think?"
"Two and three-quarters," Rune responded. "And counting."
Was this guy over the edge or not? Rune couldn't decide.
The blonde spoke. She asked Frankie, "What's good?"
"Like, I don't know, I'm new here."
"We're all new everywhere," the young man said meaningfully, looking at Rune. "All the time. Every three minutes, every two and a half minutes. David Bowie said that. You like him?"
"I love him," Rune said. "How'd he get two different-colored eyes?"
The man was looking at her own eyes. He didn't answer. Didn't matter; she forgot that she'd asked him a question.
Rune found her lipstick and carefully put it on. She brushed out her hair with her fingers. She decided she should be more coy. Looked at her watch. "Two minutes. Less now."
He asked her, "Want to go to a party?"
Rune looked into his eyes. Brown, swimming, paisley. She said, "Maybe. Where?"
"Your place, darling," he said.