Vignette #4: The Nudist

Just after crossing the river on Hawthorne, on his way to Powell’s to look for a present, Jack is suddenly drawn to the grassy expanse adjacent to the river’s boardwalk. Awash with noon sunlight, the river’s edge is busy with joggers, bikers, and dog walkers, enjoying what is surely one of the last days of summer. He finds a spot on the grass with a good view of the river and sits down to read Nick Adams while he people watches. Exactly two pages into Summer People, Jack looks up to see a naked woman on roller-skates cruising gracefully down the boardwalk. Save her bright white skates with red wheels, she has not a stitch of clothing. She seems oblivious to the hundreds of eyes fixed on her lovely figure. Yet, as she passes a pair of young men on a park bench, the coffee-skinned young woman bends forward, stretching her arms in front, lifting her right leg behind, and twisting slightly so as to reveal her naked pelvis to the seated, dumbfounded men. Jack, transfixed as the rest, watches as she coasts past and then finds her pace again, powerfully pushing past those in her path. Jack ponders the peculiarity of the moment briefly, before returning to his story.