Chapter 12Montreal
Joe stood in Chaboillez square, looking down Saint-Jacques street, at the people scurrying by. His mind reeled with stimuli, as he tried to recognize the things that had once been so familiar. He was sweating under his big coat.
He’d forgotten how warm middle March could be in the heart of the city. The snow had already melted, and gleaming motor cars traveled down clean streets. Women had discarded their winter coats. Women. The loveliest creatures ever placed on the earth. Joe couldn’t help staring at a pair of girls strolling by, and when he caught one of the girls’ beautiful eyes looking his way, he swallowed hard, embarrassed.
What a sight he must have been in this old coat too narrow for him and these huge, shapeless boots.
Here he was, Frankenstein’s monster,
