At this Sarah did look up, but Laura didn’t notice.
“Well, that’s a hell of a story,” Jack said.
“It’s the truth, Jack! I swear.”
“Never mind the truth. You’ve got me in a lovely mess. Burr thinks I promoted the whole affair.”
“My God! Jack, what’ll we do?”
“What can we do? Have you done anything with Marcie you wouldn’t want to write home about?”
“Nothing! I wish to God now I had. As long as he’s going to believe it anyway.”
“Oh, no! Christ! Whatever you do, Laura, don’t touch Marcie. Not till Burr straightens out. Never, if you have any sense.”
Laura wouldn’t answer him. She felt closer to winning Marcie, in spite of their awkwardness with each other this morning, than she ever had. She wouldn’t make any promises to Jack.
“You hear me, Mother?”
“Yes.”
He apparently took that for a promise. “And one more thing.”
“I can’t take any more right now.”
“This won’t hurt. What have you done to Beebo?”
“Done to her? Nothing. Ask her what she’s done to me,” she said, and her voice was hard. Sarah watched her with considerable interest now.
“Keep your voice down, Mother,” Jack said. “Beebo’s goofy for you. And when she gets a girl on her mind, that girl had better watch out. She’s a stubborn bitch.”
“So am I,” Laura snapped.
“She’s in love with you, Laura. Don’t cross her.”
“I’d walk all over her if I could. She treats me like a slave.”
“Christ, keep your voice down,” Jack said, and Laura was surprised at her own lack of caution. Usually she was meticulously careful. Today, nothing seemed to matter. “She’s in love with you,” Jack said. “That explains a lot of things.”
“It doesn’t excuse them. Besides, she isn’t. How do you know she is?”
“She said so.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
Laura couldn’t help being flattered. The pleasure in her was warm and sudden and overwhelmed her bad conscience briefly. “I’m not going to see her again,” she told Jack. This time she almost whispered, which intrigued Sarah still more.
Jack laughed. “Have it your way,” he said. “Only don’t drag me into your messes anymore, Mother. I’ve got enough of my own.”
“Is everything all right between—I mean—” She looked over at Sarah for the first time and surprised Sarah staring at her. Sarah went quickly back to work and Laura felt suddenly nervous. “Jack, I’d better hang up. We’ll talk tonight.”
“Okay. See you at five-thirty.”
Laura spent the rest of the day reassuring herself, I’ll never go back to that hotel. He’ll be gone tomorrow. Or Sunday at the latest. The thought gave her considerable relief.
Chapter Thirteen
Carl Jensen was a clean cut young man, very fair with freckled skin. He engaged Sarah in conversation right away; it was a part of what he considered good technique to get a girl talking, and he wasted no time.
Jack and Laura had dinner with them, but Jack was obviously chafing to get away. They hadn’t even finished their after-dinner coffee before he was whispering in Laura’s ear, “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Laura, who was almost wordless through dinner, agreed.
Jack did the dirty work. He told them a joke, he made them laugh, and then he said he had a meeting the next day up in Albany. Very unexpected. Would they mind, etc.
They were a little startled, Jensen especially, for he had expected Jack and Laura to stick with him and lend moral support through the evening—but they replied, almost together, “No, go ahead. We don’t mind.”
As soon as they were in the street Jack sighed, “God. I couldn’t have stood another minute of it. Straight people are so depressing.”
Laura smiled at him and noticed for the first time that evening how tired and worried he looked. She was so wound up in Laura Landon that nobody’s troubles counted for her but her own. But now she saw Jack’s anxiety and she was afraid she had caused it. She started to apologize. “Jack, I want you to know…” she began.
“Skip it.”
“Please.”
“I said skip it.” And his voice was harsh enough to hurt her.
They walked along in silence for a minute and finally Laura said, “Jack, I have to talk. I feel awful about it. I saw my father last night. He saw me, too. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never been so terrified in my life, as if he were the devil and I had to get away from him. I ran all the way to the subway. I think I was hysterical.”
He looked at her and then he sighed. “Everybody’s hysterical. Even me.”
“There was an old colored lady there. In the rest room. She said something I didn’t understand then, but I’ve been thinking about it. She said everybody is a stranger in this world until he finds a little love. That’s the most important thing.”
“Wise lady,” Jack said.
They walked without talking for half a block. “How’s Terry?” Laura asked.
“He needs a spanking. I act like a lovesick cow with him. I can’t help it. I know I’m doing it, and I can’t help it. He laughs at me.” Jack looked at the pavement as he walked, his hands shoved into his pockets. “Mother,” he said slowly. “Do you want to get back in my good graces?”
“I do,” she said gently. “Yes. I do.”
“Well,” he said, and stopped walking. She stopped beside him and saw that he was embarrassed. “This is a rotten thing to do. But I’d do it for you, bear that firmly in mind.” He poked her chest between her breasts, as if he were making a point with a fellow businessman. It was intended to lighten the atmosphere a little, but the atmosphere was too heavy already.
“I’ll help you, Jack, you know I will. Any way I can. You’ve been so wonderful to me. I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Okay, okay.” He stopped her abruptly and then seemed unable to speak himself for a minute. Finally he said, quickly, “I’m losing him,
