When we arrived at the club (to this day I forget
the name) it was packed. Wall to wall people. Some people recognized
Carmine though and invited us to join them at their table. We visited
with them for awhile but soon the crowded conditions got to be too much
for them and they left. We probably would have left as well, but
we had promised to meet Jon and Diana. It was too crowded to dance,
too noisy to hear the band, too loud to order your drinks and too smokey
to see. Shortly before 11:00 I spotted them.
"Look who's with them," I said to Carmine. It was
Tony.
It only took a moment to tell that something was wrong.
Tony was talking gravely with Jon. Jon kept shaking his head.
I could see his mouth forming the words "no" and "oh no" over and over.
Diana had her hands on her face, her eyes closed.
Carmine said, "Something's up. I'll go check it out.
You better stay here. We don't want to lose the table."
Portals
of Perception