“If you’re a movie star, why are you dressed like that, hanging out in an alley?” Marla said, genuinely curious.
“I’m not in movies anymore. And I was never a star, exactly, though everybody tells me I could’ve been. As for how I’m dressed…this was a nice coat when I bought it. That was just a long time ago. Sometimes I forget to do laundry, take showers….” He rubbed his hand on his chin and winced. “Shave. I have a lot on my mind. If I’d known I was going to meet someone so attractive, I would’ve taken some extra time this morning.”
“Why are you bothering to flatter me?” Marla said.
“Self-centered much?” Rondeau said. “Your pop-cultural ignorance is once again your undoing. My man B doesn’t swing in your direction, Marla. It’s well known. He was talking about me. I’m the attractive one.”
B shook his head. “I never did get used to strangers knowing what kind of people I like to sleep with, but when your sexual preferences show up in tabloid headlines, I guess it’s unavoidable. Most people don’t recognize me anymore, though.”
“Sure, you look different,” Rondeau said, “but it’s your eyes. Can’t mistake those. I always thought they were colored contacts.”
“You should see them in the summer. They get bluer then.”
“Are you two flirting?” Marla said. “Since when are you gay, Rondeau? I knew you had a thing for club-hopping college girls, but this is news to me.”
Rondeau rolled his eyes. “Don’t be so narrow-minded, Marla. You gotta leave your options open.”
“Great. Get his number, then, and let’s go. You can look him up when you come back here to do that thing with the Chinese guy. For now, we’ve got things to do.”
“Ah,” B said. “This wasn’t a chance encounter, actually. I need to talk to you.”
Marla cocked her head. “About?”
“Something’s going to happen to you. Something bad.”
“I don’t think you’re qualified to threaten me, Mr. Bowman.”
He held up his hands. “That’s not what I’m saying. Sometimes I have…visions. No, that’s too mystical, they’re just dreams, but there’s true stuff in them. I can tell when it’s not a normal dream, when it’s one of those dreams.”
“And you dreamed about me?”
“Yeah. You were wearing a purple cloak. You weren’t the only thing in the dream, though. There were frogs, too—it was raining frogs. And there were hummingbirds. And some old dude in a beaver hat.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I knew I had to come to the city, that I’d find you, and here I am. So what’s the deal with the frogs?”
Marla tapped her foot for a moment. “I can’t be certain, Mr. Bowman, but it sounds to me like you’ve got a psychic streak. Lots of people do, though yours must be pretty strong. You picked up something, and you followed it—not a good idea, I have to say. That kind of initiative can get you in trouble. You say you saw me in your dream, and I believe that, but it doesn’t have anything to do with you, okay? You just picked it up, like a radio signal, like hearing a cell phone on a police scanner.”
B shook his head. “Listen, I know things, I can help you—”
“You’re not a sorcerer,” Marla said bluntly. “You don’t hold yourself like someone who uses power. I can see that. Maybe you’ve heard some things, seen some things, maybe you’re a third-rate seer, even, but you can’t be any help to me, and you’re not a threat to me, either. I’m incredibly busy. I have to go. I’d suggest you stay away from me, no matter what your dreams say. The last thing I need is the additional complication of your presence. I am simply too busy to be interested in you. Come on, Rondeau.” She walked away.
“Sorry, man,” Rondeau said behind her. “She’s a woman with a mission. I love your work, really.”
Rondeau caught up with her farther down the block. “Bitch,” he said amiably.
“Starfucker,” she replied.
“I wonder if that psychic streak is what ruined his movie career?” Rondeau said.
“Probably. Poor bastard. Neither one thing nor the other. At least you and me, we’re up to our foreheads in magic, it’s our element, we can breathe in it. He’s probably been having dreams and seeing shit his whole life, but not strongly enough for any sorcerer to bother seeking him out to mentor him, so he’s not part of our world, but he’s too weird for the ordinaries, too.”