Ingersoll smiled.
“Let’s pursue it at home,” he said.
“When will that be?” she said.
“When will we be home?” Ingersoll said.
“I’ll be home pretty soon,” Betsy said. “But you. When will you be home?”
“When you are,” Ingersoll said.
Puzzlement was pressing for position with anger in his response.
“That will be refreshing,” she said.
Puzzlement was winning.
“That I’m home?” he said.
“You so rarely are,” Betsy said.
Ingersoll looked as if he’d been physically jostled. He stared at her.
“Betsy,” he said finally, “I am the managing partner of the biggest law firm north of New York. I work long hours, and I work very hard.”
“I know how hard you’re working,” she said. “And at what.”
Ingersoll said to Jesse, “Could you excuse us for a moment?”
“You mean step out of my office?” Jesse said.
“Yes.”
“No,” Jesse said. “You’re free to leave.”
Ingersoll stood silently.
The he said, “Betsy. Time to go.”
“You go along, Jay,” she said. “I’m not through here.”
He stood silent again.
Then he said to her, “God, you’re an embarrassment,” and turned and left the office.
Jesse looked at Betsy and waited.
“He orders me around like I’m some kind of junior law clerk,” she said.
Jesse nodded.
“I’m his wife, for God’s sake,” she said.
Jesse nodded again.
“He ought to pay more attention to that,” she said.
Jesse waited. Betsy Ingersoll didn’t say any more.
“Is it that he orders you around?” Jesse said.
“It’s a lot of things,” Betsy said. “Are we through here?”
“I think we probably are,” Jesse said. “For the moment.”
26
“HAVE YOU seen me?” Jenn said when Jesse answered the phone.
“On the tube?” Jesse said.
“Yes, silly, where else?”
Jesse sipped his first drink of the night, carefully, so Jenn wouldn’t hear.
“I haven’t,” Jesse said.
“Probably not syndicated up there yet. But we will be. The show is really taking off.”
“I’ll keep an eye out,” Jesse said.
“I’ve been doing a style report every Wednesday morning and some interviews, and of course the weather.”
“For the whole syndication area?” Jesse said.
“You know,” Jenn said, “one of those generic reports: Weather in the east is mostly clear and mild. There are some storm clouds in the area of Chesapeake Bay, and unseasonable temperatures along the coast of Maine. Now, here’s the forecast for your area. Cut to local news, one minute.”
“Find a place to live?” Jesse said.
“Downtown,” Jenn said. “Nice little studio on Tenth Street, between Fifth and Sixth. Rent-controlled.”
“Sublet?” Jesse said.
“No, my friend has had it since rent control,” Jenn said.
“You sublet from your friend?”
