persky

"Hmm, " Persky said, scratching his head. He rapped again, but still no magic. "Something must be wrong, " he mumbled.

He was on the phone all day, to Persky and to his mistress.

Kugelmass visited Persky the next day, and in a few minutes was again passed magically to Yonville.

"Bring her over, " Persky said. "I think I got the bugs out of it. "

Following Persky's instructions, they held each other tightly, closed their eyes, and counted to ten.

Look, Persky, I'm right now late to meet the ball and chain at Lexington Avenue, but when can I go again? Tomorrow?

That night , safely returned to Persky's flat , Kugelmass brought up the idea of having Emma visit him in the big city .

He kissed her again, raced to the elevators, yelled at Persky over a pay phone in the Plaza lobby, and just made it home before midnight.

"Relax, " Persky told him. "You'll get a coronary. "

Persky reappeared, pushing before him a large object on squeaky roller-skate wheels.

"O. K. , O. K. We know there's a problem. " Persky crawled under the cabinet and started banging on something with a large wrench.

Persky tucked the bills in his pants pocket and turned toward his bookcase.

At Persky's, Emma climbed into the cabinet, arranged her new boxes of clothes neatly around her, and kissed Kugelmass fondly.

Persky shut the doors, took a deep breath, and tapped the box three times.

Persky tossed in a paperback copy of Flaubert's novel.

Kugelmass asked as Persky began shutting the cabinet doors.

"Why? " Persky asked. "You can't beat his time? "

Later that afternoon, Kugelmass showed up at Persky's drunk.

Persky went to the back room, and Kugelmass heard the sounds of boxes and furniture being moved around.

"So what should I do? This is the world of magic, " Persky said. "It's all nuance. "

Persky rapped three times on the cabinet and then flung open the doors.