“Gimlets? Two of them? It’s good to know the facts. I’ve heard everything from Martinis to Daiquiris and from one to six.”
“That’s interesting. Did you hear anyone say that I killed her?”
“Not exactly. All I heard was one man say that you should have killed her if you didn’t. He was a friend.”
“Some friend,” I said bitterly.
At that moment, someone came into the outer office, and Millie went out to see who it was. I waited for her to come back and tell me, but she didn’t. Sid came instead.
“Sugar,” she said, “I’ve come down to have lunch with you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said, “but it’s too early for lunch.” She came around my desk and kissed me with sufficient warmth to make me feel wanted again, and I held her for a minute, smelling her hair. We were standing for this, and pretty soon I sat down in my chair with her in my lap, and I continued to hold her with one arm. She was wearing several shades of brown from light to dark in various places from hat to shoes, all of which went well with a tan suit for summer. The narrow skirt of the tan suit rode up a little above her tan nylon knees, and I put my free hand on the nearer knee.
“I’ve been feeling perfectly miserable,” she said. “Have you? So have I, and for a good reason. What’s yours?”
“Do you remember when you got up this morning?”
“I remember. I had a bad taste in my mouth and a bad ache between my eyes, and there was a loud-mouthed cardinal outside the window.”
“Sugar, I’m sorry. How is the ache between your eyes now?”
“Gone.”
“I’m so glad. Did you take an aspirin or anything?”
“No. Just two cups of black coffee.”
“Coffee is good, all right. If I had been a sensible wife, I’d have gotten up and made it for you.”
“Oh, nonsense. You were sleeping beautifully, on your side like a child, and so I left you alone.”
“No. That’s not true, and it’s what I’ve been feeling miserable about. The truth is, I wasn’t asleep at all. I was only pretending.”
“I thought you might be, but I wasn’t sure.”
“What made you think I might be?”
“You lay so still and breathed so quietly. Normally a person jerks and snorts a little over a period of time while sleeping.”
“Do I jerk and snort? Honestly?”
“A little. Delicately, however. Nothing crude.”
“I’m glad of that, at least. If I must jerk and snort in my sleep, I’m at least glad I do it delicately. Anyhow, I was deceptive and cowardly to pretend sleeping, and you were no sooner gone than I wished I hadn’t done it.”
“That’s all right. I don’t blame you for wanting to avoid me. I would have avoided myself if it had been possible.”
“You shouldn’t be too self-critical, sugar. It makes a bad impression. What you must do is concentrate on your good qualities. You have a number that I can name if you wish.”
“Thanks very much, but I think it will be more therapeutic if I can discover them for myself.”
“In the meanwhile, will you answer honestly a candid question?”
“I’ll answer as honestly as my character permits.”
“No. That won’t do. You must say right out that you’ll answer honestly.”
“All right. I’ll answer honestly.”
“If Beth had been alive when you went to meet her last night, what would you have done? That’s the question.”
“Well, it’s a tough question, honey, but here’s my honest answer. We’d have talked, and maybe held hands and kissed and got sloppy about the past, and then we’d have said good-by, and she’d have gone away, and I’d have been glad that she was gone. That’s the truth as I am now truly convinced.”
“Sugar, you have said exactly the right thing. I believe you, and the whole episode, so far as I’m concerned, is no more than an example of the peculiar kind of idiocy that is natural to men at times. I even feel rather tender toward you for being such a chump. What we have to concentrate on now, since this has been settled satisfactorily, is how to keep you out of trouble if possible, or how to get you out of trouble if it becomes necessary.”
“I’ve been thinking myself that this problem should have priority.”
“Good. We’re agreed on that, then, and we’re again, I hope, on the best of terms.”
“Well, God-damn it, I’m madly in love with you, non-platonic style. You may call that being on the best of terms if you choose.”
“I do, sugar. There are absolutely no terms better. And now I’m determined on going to lunch, early or not. I had no breakfast at all, I was feeling so miserable, but now I’m feeling much better and too hungry to wait. What time is it? Couldn’t you leave now?”
“It’s eleven, and I could.”
“Let’s go, then. We’ll have a drink before lunch, that’s what we’ll do. Not gimlets, however. Not even gin. We’ll have a Daiquiri or a sidecar or something.”
She stood up and tugged at her stockings and smoothed her skirt over her hips, after which, while I put away some papers, she repaired her lips with a lipstick that she took from her purse, peering for the purpose into the tiny mirror of a compact, also from the purse. Then we went into the outer office, and I told Millie where I was going in general, out to lunch, and if I wasn’t back by twelve to lock the door and go out to lunch herself. This wasn’t really necessary, for she would have gone anyhow when her time came, but such gestures of consideration helped sustain an amiable atmosphere around the office. She said all right, and Sid and I went on downstairs to the street, which was hot and full of sunshine.
“Where do you want to go?” I said.
“The hotel, I guess. Is there someplace else near?”
“There are other places, but I don’t recommend them. At the
