The girl rummaged through old cars skewed on the avenue until she found a loose fender. She smashed the plate-glass shop door, carefully stepped across the splinters, entered, and sorted through the dusty dress racks. She was a big girl and had trouble fitting herself. Finally she abandoned the plum-colored wool and compromised on a dark tartan, size 12, $120 reduced to $99.90. She located a salesbook and pencil, blew the dust off, and carefully wrote: I.O.U. $99.90. Linda Nielsen.
She returned to the library and went through the main doors, which had taken her a week to batter in with a sledgehammer. She ran across the great hall, filthied with five years of droppings from the pigeons roosting there. As she ran, she clapped her arms over her head to shield her hair from stray shots. She climbed the stairs to the third floor and entered the Print Room. As always, she signed the register: Date—June 20, 1981. Name—Linda Nielson. Address—Central Park Model Boat Pond. Business or Firm—Last Man on Earth.
She had had a long debate with herself about Business or Firm the last time she broke into the library. Strictly speaking, she was the last woman on earth, but she had felt that if she wrote that it would seem chauvinistic; and "Last Person on Earth" sounded silly, like calling a drink a beverage.
She pulled portfolios out of racks and leafed through them. She knew exactly what she wanted; something warm with blue accents to fit a twenty-by-thirty frame for her bedroom. In a priceless collection of Hiroshige prints she found a lovely landscape. She filled out a slip, placed it carefully on the librarian's desk, and left with the print.
Downstairs, she stopped off in the main circulation room, went to the back shelves, and selected two Italian grammars and an Italian dictionary. Then she backtracked through the main hall, went out to the jeep, and placed the books and print on the front seat alongside her companion, an exquisite Dresden china doll. She picked up a list that read:
Jap. print
Italian
20 x 30 pict. fr.
Lobster bisque
Brass polish
Detergent
Furn. polish
Wet mop
She crossed off the first two items, replaced the list on the dashboard, got into the jeep, and bounced down the library steps. She drove up Fifth Avenue, threading her way through crumbling wreckage. As she was passing the ruins of St. Patrick's Cathedral at 50th Street, a man appeared from nowhere.
He stepped out of the rubble and, without looking left or right, started crossing the avenue just in front of her. She exclaimed, banged on the horn, which remained mute, and braked so sharply that the jeep slewed and slammed into the remains of a No. 3 bus. The man let out a squawk, jumped ten feet, and then stood frozen, staring at her.
"You crazy jaywalker," she yelled. "Why don't you look where you're going? D'you think you own the whole city?"
He stared and stammered. He was a big man, with thick, grizzled hair, a red beard, and weathered skin. He was wearing army fatigues, heavy ski boots, and had a bursting knapsack and blanket roll on his back. He carried a battered shotgun, and his pockets were crammed with odds and ends. He looked like a prospector.
"My God," he whispered in a rusty voice. "Somebody at last. I knew it. I always knew I'd find someone." Then, as he noticed her long, fair hair, his face fell. "But a woman," he muttered. "Just my goddamn lousy luck."
"What are you, some kind of nut?" she demanded. "Don't you know better than to cross against the lights?"
He looked around in bewilderment. "What lights?"
"So all right, there aren't any lights, but couldn't you look where you were going?"
"I'm sorry, lady. To tell the truth, I wasn't expecting any traffic."
"Just plain common sense," she grumbled, backing the jeep off the bus.
"Hey, lady, wait a minute."
"Yes?"
"Listen, you know anything about TV? Electronics, how they say …"
"Are you trying to be funny?"
"No, this is straight. Honest."
She snorted and tried to continue driving up Fifth Avenue, but he wouldn't get out of the way.
"Please, lady," he persisted. "I got a reason for asking. Do you know?"
"No."
"Damn! I never get a break. Lady, excuse me, no offense, got any guys in this town?"
"There's nobody but me. I'm the last man on earth."
"That's funny. I always thought I was."
"So all right, I'm the last woman on earth."
He shook his head. "There's got to be other people; there just has to. Stands to reason. South, maybe you think? I'm down from New Haven, and I figured if I headed where the climate was like warmer, there'd be some guys I could ask something."
"Ask what?"
"Aw, a woman wouldn't understand. No offense."
"Well, if you want to head south you're going the wrong way."
"That's south, ain't it?" he said, pointing down Fifth Avenue.
"Yes, but you'll just come to a dead end. Manhattan's an island. What you have to do is go uptown and cross the George Washington Bridge to Jersey."
"Uptown? Which way is that?"
"Go straight up Fifth to Cathedral Parkway, then over to the West Side and up Riverside. You can't miss it."
He looked at her helplessly.
"Stranger in town?"
He nodded.
"Oh, all right," she said. "Hop in. I'll give you a lift."
She transferred the books and the china doll to the back seat, and he squeezed in alongside her. As she started the jeep she looked down at his worn ski boots.
"Hiking?"
"Yeah."
"Why don't you drive? You can get a car working, and there's plenty of gas and oil."
"I don't know how to drive," he said despondently. "It's the story of my life."
He heaved a sigh, and that made his knapsack jolt massively against her shoulder. She examined him out of the corner of her eye. He had a powerful chest, a long, thick back, and strong legs. His hands were big and hard, and his neck was corded with muscles. She thought for a moment, then nodded to herself and stopped the jeep.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "Won't it go?"
"What's your name?"
"Mayo. Jim Mayo."
"I'm Linda Nielsen."
"Yeah. Nice meeting you. Why don't it go?"
"Jim, I've got a proposition for you."
"Oh?" He looked at her doubtfully. "I'll be glad to listen, lady—I mean Linda, but I ought to tell you, I got something on my mind that's going to keep me pretty busy for a long t …" His voice trailed off as he turned away from her intense gaze.
"Jim, if you'll do something for me, I'll do something for you."
"Like what, for instance?"
"Well, I get terribly lonesome, nights. It isn't so bad during the day—there's always a lot of chores to keep you busy—but at night it's just awful."
"Yeah, I know," he muttered.
"I've got to do something about it."
"But how do I come into this?" he asked nervously.
"Why don't you stay in New York for a while? If you do, I'll teach you how to drive and find you a car so you don't have to hike south."
"Say, that's an idea. Is it hard, driving?"
"I could teach you in a couple of days."
"I don't learn things so quick."
"All right, a couple of weeks, but think of how much time you'll save in the long run."
"Gee," he said, "that sounds great." Then he turned away again. "But what do I have to do for you?"