Angelica Lost and Found

Chapter 70. Dancing in the Dark

What became of that infamous painting that passed from hand to hand and went swimming in San Francisco Bay? Volatore Two (Joe Fontana) painted it. He had never painted a picture before, and later could not recall doing it. Lenore Goldfarb paid a hundred and fifty thousand dollars for it, then couldn’t stand the sight of it. Volatore Three bought it next. At first it filled him with an immensity of compre-hension, a feeling that he contained in himself the whole dream of reality which is the world. Then it almost made him jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. Angelica Greenberg and Olivia Partridge felt woozy viewing it, as did Sergeant Hennessy. When Joe Fontana was taken to the Eidolon Gallery and forced to look at what he had painted he fainted. Alyosha Zhabotinsky picked up random snatches of the idea of it and suffered no ill effects. Jim Long experienced the immensity of comprehension but was occupied by Volatore One before any come down from the immensity.

What was to be done with Tiny, Tiny Dancing Giants in the Dim Red Caverns of Sleep? To sell it to anyone would be irresponsible; to give it to a charity would be uncharitable. After long thought Dr Jimatore wrapped it in two thicknesses of brown paper and locked it in a Dos Arbolitos cupboard, the resting-place of a broken beach-umbrella, a retired croquet set and a Ouija board.