the girl in the green raincoat

Laura lipmanov
Chapter 9, 2008: \"A Pink diaper bag for tourists?
Tess asked in confusion, lifting things from the silver Nordstrom box. \"Pink and brown.
Whitney took the bag from Tess and began to show her all kinds of pockets. Her over-the-
Top gestures are surprisingly similar to those used by the \"price fit\" model, with only Whitney giving all the presentations on her game show.
\"Your phone can be put here, and in a pinch, I think you can pack your Beretta on the change board.
Look at antique brass
Tone stroller clip.
It will turn into a backpack.
She demonstrated, walked around, pretended to push the stroller and walk the dog. “O. K.
, I like the last feature but it is still pink
Tess looked at the label --
\"It was made by someone named Petunia Pickle at the bottom.
Also, did I mention it? It’s pink.
\"She couldn\'t bear to speak out about the evil eyes and the problem that she didn\'t want any baby gifts until there was actually a baby.
The concept of a baby is still a strange abstraction for Tess.
She is eight weeks away from her delivery date, despite the constant signs of life in her body --
Feifei la peyou is a big hit.
She does not seem to have a mother\'s instinct.
She\'s not even sure if she believes she has a baby.
She wouldn\'t be surprised to find out what was in her stomach was a huge one. . . radish.
In fact, this is a recent dream.
Tess gave birth to a radish. everyone said it looked exactly like her.
\"I am not a sex discrimination.
It\'s just the best configuration for the pocket.
I also like the combination of pink and brown.
It reminds me of Baskin. Robbins.
Besides, it\'s not for you;
This is for the baby.
Tess admitted, \"I don\'t know much about being a mother . \"
\"But in fact, I\'m pretty sure the diaper bag was for me.
For me and the Crow, they might like to change diapers.
Who might be such a good parent, I will be largely irrelevant.
Advertising \"will you also be competitive in parenting? Asked Whitney. “I’m not” —
But Tess had no energy to deny something so obvious.
\"I just don\'t think it\'s enough.
The Crow is busy, happy and confident, there is no single care in the world, but I am stuck in a long-term worry model.
\"Well, I have a gift that will please you. \"Is it alcohol?
So far, her brain must have developed more or less. Besides, I. Q.
Overrated. Look at you. Near-genius I. Q.
But your taste is rubbish.
\"It\'s better than alcohol.
Whitney continued to pace in the room to model the diaper bag, and he stopped in a dramatic position, holding akimbo.
\"Ethel Zimmerman!
Tess waited and thought there must be more, but Whitney was just standing there and pleased.
\"I\'m afraid I already know the real name of Ethel Melman, but thank you for your trivia.
You know, when people ask her why she changed it, what did Jacqueline Susan tell her to say?
Some things about how people would disappear from the heat if \"Zimmerman\" was under the lights.
\"She was married to Ernest borning for 32 days, and the fact that she was immortal in her autobiography --
There is only one blank page, \"Whitney said.
Who is the competitor here, Tess thought?
\"However, it\'s a different Essel Zimmerman.
Living in seweena Park, a long-time neighbor of the masses.
She\'s Carol\'s-case-of-
Emergency personnel at Nordstrom
Would you like to bet that she is also Carol who called her on the weekend to not be able to raise her sister on the phone?
\"So, my diaper bag?
Tess swayed between envy and envy.
It\'s irritating that Whitney is free to keep track of premonition, roam the world and let things happen.
\"You can\'t imagine half of the ads,\" Whitney said . \".
\"Do you know anyone who wants Marc Jacobs wallet?
\"Have you been to Ethel ? \"Chatted her up?
Whitney shook her head.
\"I thought about it.
But I decided she needed to come and see you, could you explain what you think happened and why?
Even if you just saw Carol from your window, you were in contact with her and I didn\'t quite match.
She\'s real to you.
She\'s just a mystery to me.
\"How do we get a woman from Severna Park to come here and talk to me?
\"Well, there\'s a light rail if she\'s not driving --
\"No, I mean, what can I say to convince her that it can\'t be done by phone and I need to be face to face with her?
Whitney was overwhelmed.
In that most unusual silence, the sound of Dempsey\'s chewing was filled with the whole room.
He has grown from trying to eat his legs to gnawing iron bars in his crate.
The overall behavior of the dog improved, but only with Tess.
He still generally hates others, and when anyone other than the crow is in the house, he has to be irritated.
Lloyd refuses to walk the dog with the other dogs as it always ends in a melee.
So during the day, when Dempsey needed a break, Tess used an antique cane.
Another strange gift from her aunt, who seemed to confuse Tess\'s pregnancy with some sort of Victorian illness --
Open the lock of the crate and open the door.
He ran out, did his thing, took a few laps with the invisible fence, and then carefully returned to his crate.
He will not, however, go out in the dark;
When he was released in the middle of the night, he was still using a chamber pot.
He is afraid of darkness.
This is the only sign that the dog is weak and it seems to be preparing for some epic battles.
Now, when his teeth were ground on metal, Tess could not help but wonder if he was preparing for the next meeting with Don Epstein, or any hired gun took away the dog\'s beloved mistress. “Dempsey! ” Tess said.
\"We can ask the lady.
Zimmerman, if she comes here to see Dempsey, consider treating him as a favor to Carol.
\"She won\'t,\" Whitney said . \"
\"Unless she\'s crazy.
\"I don\'t want him on her either.
But that\'s enough for her to come here and let me say what I think about exactly what happened to Carol.
We will call her and say Carol left something under our care and we have instructions to give it to her.
But what do you think we get when we talk face-to-face with Ethel?
You are really slow to \"advertise.
You\'re sure your brain function is O. K. ?
She\'s Carol\'s-case-of-
Emergency rescue workers
This is our emergency.
\"I think this is more applicable to accidents in the workplace,\" said Tess . \". “But, O. K. , I get it.
She can raise the heat and come up with a sympathetic version against this bitch --stole-my-
Portrait of money by Epstein
You are so smart.
Except for the smell of diaper bags.
\"Believe me, I picked the best one.
Ethel Zimmerman sounded very weak on the phone. she was an elderly woman with a hoarse voice and a faint voice that Tess could hardly hear.
Still, she did not hesitate when asked if she would come to Baltimore to talk about Carol;
Tess did not even have to hang the bait of Dempsey. Mrs.
Zimmerman did ask if their meeting could wait until the next afternoon.
She admitted that the traffic was terrible after four.
Tess was full of sympathy for the older woman, and she said yes.
The next day, The Crow cleaned the house before going to work and then made sure that the door was not locked so that Tess would not unnecessarily open the door. At noon —
An hour in front of my wife.
Zimmerman expected --
There was a sharp knock on the door, and Tess cried, \"Come in, I am behind.
\"But may this be the lady? Zimmerman? Tess’s guest —guests —were two 40-
Some women with a strong figure and almost the same chin --length bobs.
At first glance, they seem to be sisters.
The next day, Tess realized that their taste was very similar. “Mrs. Zimmerman?
Two women exchanged. “No, we’re —
I\'m Beth Angleton.
\"I\'m Liz Matthias.
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They looked at Tess with anticipation as if their name could explain everything. “Um —
\"Are we Mei\'s parents?
Lloyd\'s girlfriend?
\"Their flat eyes, though not entirely judgmental, managed to convey that if Tess Monahan had suddenly appeared at their house, they would have known immediately who she was. I have pre-
What Tess wants to say is epilepsy.
I\'m doing a possible murder investigation and I\'m a little distracted. “Of course.
Did Lloyd say you \'d come over? We’ve been —well, life —
As you can see
She pointed to her bed, her dog, her room, her stomach, and hoped that these things would sum up the madness of her life.
Thanks to the Crow for cleaning the room, the pot in the room is empty.
\"No, we didn\'t tell Lloyd we were coming to see you,\" Beth said . \". Or was it Liz?
Are they all Elizabeth?
Are they forced to distinguish nicknames in order to avoid confusion?
\"It\'s awkward,-
As a companion to May, we were really unhappy with Lloyd.
\"On her best day, Tess may come up with a dozen reasons why Lloyd is not suitable for anyone.
But that\'s her privilege.
How dare these? so-perfect, put-
Mothers Together
They also wear complementary silver earrings and stunning designer glasses
Suggesting Lloyd is not the right boyfriend for their precious May?
She decided to keep them on the defensive.
\"Are we talking about race? \"Of course not!
Beth sang with Liz. Then Beth —or was it Liz? —
You can\'t think we\'re paranoid. ”“Why not?
Tess challenged.
\"We adopted a girl from China.
Our own lives, our choices, let us
I\'m not going to say as much bias as people like Lloyd might know, but it certainly makes us sensitive to judging people based on external criteria. We love Lloyd.
He\'s smart and curious.
At first, we thought he had a good influence on May.
\"Then what\'s your problem? ” Tess asked.
She didn\'t mean it, it sounded annoying and hostile,-
She\'s pregnant and trapped in this room.
People have to give her a little freedom, not just in the mood.
For example, she has to take a sponge bath.
The highlight of her week is allowing her to take a shower while sitting on a plastic stool.
She stinks on the sixth day, which is the fifth day.
In this case, she dares to make anyone happy.
\"Do you know for sure?
Beth, who seems to be a spokeswoman, asked.
After all, it is not difficult to distinguish them.
Beth\'s eyes are blue. Liz\'s eyes are green.
\"We just assume-
I mean, he said he got it from your partner, so we think he\'s been consulted.
\"Tess liked that one of May\'s two moms had to fumble for the proper term to describe the Crow.
She finally put it out and wanted to scream, clorisman-
Like, \"he hit my boyfriend!
But even if they get the reference of \"Young Frankenstein\", these very serious women may not be amused by it.
\"What did he get from the Crow?
Some inappropriate movies?
Tess knew in a flash what had happened.
\"Did he show the sensory field for May?
Peter Greenway?
For Lloyd, you have to understand that a movie is a movie, it\'s about technology, not content.
I tried to explain that other people have different emotions,-
\"It\'s not about movies,\" Beth said . \"
Liz muttered, \"If that\'s all right . \"
\"So, what is it? ” Tess snapped.
\"I don\'t want to be impatient, but I\'m waiting for someone this afternoon and if you can take the case seriously --
\"It was May\'s birthday last weekend,\" Beth said . \"
\"Lloyd gave her a ring and proposed to her.
Tess found the Crow at work, but it turned out that his intention to Lloyd was innocent.
He showed Lloyd the ring, the biography of heir at his mother\'s house, and told him that it would be his one day when he found the woman he wanted to marry.
The Crow just didn\'t expect \"one day\" to come so soon.
\"You can\'t even call it theft,\" said the crow . \".
\"I told him he could have it when he decided to get married.
I am not happy that he took it without asking, but he took it for legitimate purposes and did not lock it.
Lloyd may have done so before long.
This is progress.
\"Why did he get married ? \"
\"He\'s in love,\" said the crow. “Eighteen-year-
The old boys fall in love every day.
They fell out too.
However, they are not going out to propose every day.
A little opposite.
\"We showed zeffirellli\'s Romeo and Juliet in Baz Luhrmann\'s version.
I think this is an opportunity to see how the classic text is interpreted in two different eras, but Lloyd-
Well, I think Lloyd is looking at something else.
\"You don\'t seem to be upset about this,\" said Tess . \".
\"This is not a tragedy,\" said the crow . \".
\"I mean, I don\'t think it\'s the best idea he ever had, but it\'s hard for me to be unhappy because a teenage boy loves a teenage girl so much, he decided to marry her.
\"In fact, it may be absolutely tragic,\" Tess argued . \".
\"They may have ruined their lives.
What if they had children?
Oh, my God. is that the case?
Is she pregnant? ”Crow laughed.
\"To be honest, I\'m not even sure if they have sex.
I asked Lloyd to have as much privacy as possible on this issue.
But you met May, Tess, and you heard her 10-
The annual plan of her life
Teach for America, then graduate school.
She won\'t be pregnant.
Tess, they are young and in love.
You see, we will deal with it, but your anger is totally out of proportion.
\"Advertise a rap on the door, then a trembling\" Hello ? \"?
\"Remind Tess of the arrival of the guests she was expecting, MadamZimmerman.
Her parents and May said goodbye in a hurry.
Why is she so upset?
Heirloom, engagement ring-
What\'s the use of Crows?
At some point, aren\'t they getting married?
The one who used to put pressure on marriage was the Crow;
She told him that it didn\'t make sense unless they had children, and she kept thinking that we would never have children.
But now that they have children, Tess can\'t remember when the Crow mentioned the marriage last time.
Will he really be by her side?
Can she rely on him?
She shouted to Ethel. Not the Merm)
Zimmerman, her mind is focused on the ring she has never seen before.
It may be gorgeous, not to her taste.
Or small, more suitable for petite people.
That\'s it, right?
The ring is not for her, but she is still for the man. Right? Right?
Two weeks later, Tess met.
Surprised-
The woman named as an emergency contact for Carol Epstein, Ethel Zimmerman.
The previous chapters are online on www. nytimes. com/funnypages.
A version of the article, published on page MM30 of Sunday magazine, is titled: girls in green raincoats.
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