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the men preferred business suits or slacks and plaid shirts from Lands' End or L.L. Bean. |
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"Welcome to yuppie heaven," he muttered. |
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Feeling distinctly underdressed in his jeans and polo shirt, and intimidated by all the fresh-scrubbed faces, he abruptly changed course and recrossed the street. |
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The mall was packed. Men and women and kidslots of kids. All loaded down with shopping bags and stuffed Barneys. All smiling; all clean; without a doubt, all Republican. Cyrus felt like the grubby Alice who had just fallen through the mirror into Limbaughland. He cast his eyes down and wondered why he felt so bitter. After a moment he looked up and suddenly realized he didn't have a clue where Kyna's appointment was supposed to be. He went to the mall directory to check the listing of jewelry stores. |
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The mall had four levels and two jewelry stores, one on the fourth floor and one on the third. According to the "You Are Here" arrow, he was on the second floor and he noticed that there was a food court in the basement and that they had a cookie store. |
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He took the escalator to the bottom level and followed his nose to the red-and-white-striped shrine of Debbie Fields. He bought three hockey-puck-sized chocolate chip cookies and a medium diet drink and carried them around the white brick wall that separated the dining area from the food vendors. He looked for an empty table and saw Kyna sitting across from a handsome man with swarthy skin and a long ponytail. They were sitting with their heads close together the way people do when trying to keep from being overheard, and Cyrus felt a totally unexpected pang of jealousy. |
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When Kyna saw Cyrus, she appeared momentarily disconcerted, but quickly smiled and waved him over. |
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The man stood and Cyrus shook his hand. |
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"Join us, señor," Georges said. |
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