“But don’t we have to try to clean them?” She sat down on the
concrete path. “Don’t you remember when you were a kid and you
thought everything was perfect? Then you grew older and something
happened, and all of a sudden the world was a dirty, disappointing
place?”
He sat silently down beside her. She held his hand. “Don’t you
think that maybe our job is to recapture what we had back then?
That’s what I think. And I think there are only two ways to do that.
Through making love, or fighting the enemies of love.”
“Excuse me,” a toothy, well-coiffed man in a suit interrupted her.
“What’s going on here? Some kind of a demonstration?”
“We were just leaving.” Yak stood up and pulled Sprout to her
feet. Was she going to try to kiss him too?
“Yes!” beamed Sprout, “We’re here to speak out against
Biddenbrooks and its unfair and corrupt business practices.”
“Really?” he turned around and called over to two men who were
unpacking television cameras and boom mikes from a television
news van. He shook their hands. “I’m Alex Bard,” he said, “I’m a news
reporter. We were just on our way to interview Morris Bidden, but if
you’re ready now, we could squeeze you in. Do you have time for an
interview?”
Sprout looked up at Yak, kaleidoscopes in her eyes. “Of course,”
she said. “Let me prepare my troops.” She walked over to the armed
forces and pushed aside General Heck, who had been trying to teach
them how to hut-two-three-four. So far they hadn’t managed more
than two.
“We’re on camera in a few minutes,” she yelled, “I need you to go
crazy and chant down Biddenbrooks.” But just as she said this a fleet
of big black cars screeched up to the curb.
“Oh shit,” Heck announced, “G-men! Our rebellion has been
leaked. We’ve got a mole!”
“What do we do?” one of the Martians shrieked, “I don’t want to
go to prison!”
“Scatter!” Heck shouted, but before they could pick up their
batteries and run, Sprout screamed “Wait!” and then they saw the
doors open and a group of Hasidic Jews step out, plump and
ungainly. Bennie jumped out with them and strode up to Sprout with
the black-suited doctor who had attended their famous party months
ago.
“Madam,” the Hasid said, “We are at your service. Shall we get
ABYSSINIA
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