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into the kitchen.
    The woman came out of one of the hallways, towelling her hair. “Juliet’ll be out in a few minutes. Hey!” she yelled with wide eyes when she saw Johnny’s runners on her kitchen floor. “Whatsa matter with you—ain’t you got no respect?”
    Johnny turned around and pushed past me. His face was red as he took off his shoes.
    “Bitch,” he whispered.
    “Hey, Juliet,” the lady called out. “You picked yourself a real winner.”
    “Oh, Auntie,” Juliet said as she rounded the corner. She had a lit smoke and an ashtray in the same hand. “Relax.”
    “Hi, Juliet,” I called softly. I couldn’t look at her. I just lookeddown at her clothes. She had on those black jeans, the ones that I liked the best. She was also wearing a cool blue shirt. As always, her hair and her make-up were perfect.
    “Hi, Larry,” she said. “Come in.”
    I could tell she was disappointed I had come. Now I felt like a Leonard. When she saw Johnny, her eyes lit up and her smile changed; this time it reached her eyes.
    Johnny and I sat on the couch. Juliet was talking to her auntie in the kitchen. I read a magazine while Johnny kept messing up my hair.
    “You’re not going to get any tonight, Larry-poo,” he said. “You got monkey-hair.”
    “Maaaan,” I dragged, “don’t touch the hair. Besides, it doesn’t look like this is a party after all.”
    “Yeah,” Johnny said as he eyed the place, “you’re right. I thought this was going to be a shaker. I wonder what they’re doing tonight in Hay? Man, they sure know how to party in Hay.”
    The living room had a huge TV, a cheap stereo and a black velvet Elvis singing to the guests at the Last Supper. There were hippie beads for doors in the house; they hung down like dead spaghetti. The lights were red, which was really neat. Heart was howling, “Let me go crazy crazy on youuuuuuu....”
    “Hey, goofs,” Juliet’s auntie called out, “don’t bust my stereo, don’t wake up my kids, and leave the food in the fridge alone. There’s pop and chips in the pantry.”
    “Okay.” I jumped up. “See you! Have a good time!”
    Johnny elbowed me and said, “Kiss-ass.”
    “Hey, man,” I answered, sitting down, “I got respect.”
    “Oooooooooo,” Johnny said, widening his eyes in mock admiration.
    We sat there not knowing what to do. I kept trying to pretend I was reading something mighty interesting and Johnny turned on the TV with the remote. He kept flicking through the channels.
    “So,” Juliet said when she walked into the room. “What do youboys want to do tonight?” She kept looking at Johnny. Johnny stared at the TV.
    “Dunno,” he said. “Who’s all coming over?”
    “Oh,” she sighed, “whoever wants to, I guess.”
    I kept my mouth shut. This was my first party and I didn’t want to blow it. I noticed that Johnny was playing it cool, not making eye contact. Juliet kept staring at the clock.
    When Juliet got tired of trying to pry answers out of Johnny, she began to talk to me. At first I just answered yes or no, but I soon found myself talking to her and loving it.
    “Tsa full moon tonight,” I said. “Does the full moon make you crazyr
    “No. Something else,” she answered and crossed her legs.
    “What?”
    “Lonely,” she said, sliding her hands between her thighs and looking at Johnny. “The full moon makes me lonely.”
    “Humph,” I said, looking at the situation. “If I ever swallowed the barrel,” I thought, “it would be under a full moon. My mouth would be full of water when I did it. Just like Shamus told me. The pressure of the water would take my head clean off...”
    “Hey, want to see some puppies? My auntie’s dog just had a litter.”
    “I got allergies,” I explained.
    “Are you serious?” she asked. “They’ve been up here all day. We usually keep them in the basement. Shouldn’t you be itching and scratching or something?”
    “It’s only if I see the puppies, then my eyes get all