It would have been nearly as hard for her to renounce the thing as for Laura, so she let things drift for a while and luck and happiness drifted along with them. They had each other and no one suspected anything.
Into the golden days sailed Charlie, like an unwelcome thunderhead. Laura had almost forgotten about him and the dance she had asked him to. She was ready to plead any strange malady to get out of it but Beth insisted that she go.
“You made that date almost two weeks ago, honey,” she said. “You can’t just suddenly break it. It’d look pretty damn queer if you did. Besides, you need a little male company now and then.”
Laura disagreed by simply not answering. But she didn’t say no when Charlie called.
“Does your roommate have a date?” Charlie had asked.
Laura bit her underlip. “Oh, yes, she’s got a date,” she said brightly.
Charlie seemed to see through her ruse almost instinctively. “I don’t mean the other one—Bud’s girl—I mean Beth. She got a date?”
“Oh. Beth. No, I don’t think so.”
“Don’t you know?” He laughed a little.
“No, she doesn’t.” Her voice was sharp, but Charlie ignored it.
“Well, my roommate wants a date,” he said. “Mitch—you remember?” The whole thing struck him as something of a joke. Even Mitch wasn’t serious about it. Two such disparate characters as he and Beth would never last, but they might brighten up the Christmas Dance a little. Besides, it would be fun to have Beth around, and Charlie couldn’t very well take her himself.
“Mitch?” said Laura.
“Yeah. Beth there?”
“Not till dinner.”
“Okay, he’ll call her after dinner. Talk to her, will you, Laura?”
“Okay, Charlie. I’ll tell her.”
She did, of course; she had to. But she didn’t like it. The whole thing seemed ominous to her.
“He’s a very nice boy, I guess,” she said glumly. “I don’t think you’d like him, though. He didn’t say a word at Maxie’s that night.”
“Oh, I thought he was adorable,” said Beth, and she reached out laughing and took Laura’s hand. “Laur, you’re jealous!” she said.
“No I’m not! Really, Beth, I’m—you mustn’t—Oh, I guess I am. Just a little.”
Beth mussed her hair and said, “I’d be crushed if you weren’t. Just a little.” She lighted a cigarette and said thoughtfully to the smoke, “Well, it might be fun to get back into circulation. Just for once.”
“All right.” Laura looked at her hands. “He’s going to call you tonight after dinner.” She got up stiffly and started for the door. “Laur—where’re you going?”
Laura didn’t know. She just wanted to express her disapproval.
“Oh, Laura, honey,” Beth said, laughing. She came up and stopped her and put her arms around Laura’s waist. “You mustn’t be so jealous. You’ve been going out all fall. How do you suppose that makes me feel?”
Laura hung her head.
“God, Laur, we’ll double date. How could I possibly two-time you?”
Laura apologized. “I won’t be jealous,” she said. “I swear I won’t.” And she underscored her intention with a kiss.
Charlie and Mitch arrived together for the dance and waited in the living room for Beth and Laura. Charlie was imposing in a tuxedo, and he looked faintly amused and detached from the proceedings. Like Emmy’s Bud, he was something of a ladies’ man, but unlike Bud, he didn’t court crushes from every girl he knew.
The attitude became him, but he was hardly aware of it. It wasn’t that he was immune to girls—far from it. It was simply that he was much more susceptible to women. Simpering college girls amused him. They were silly and scatterbrained, many of them, and once in a while he thought they were fun. But a beautiful woman, assured, alluring, and feminine, was a wonder he could never wholly resist. He had begun to see the first signs of this mature loveliness in Beth, just as she had begun to find maturity in herself.
Charlie and Mitch stood off in a corner and surveyed the girls of Alpha Beta, and the girls milled about and returned the survey. Charlie was fun to look at because he was good to look at. His hair was wonderful stuff—a rich dark brown born of an early blond that left gold traces at his temples.
“A pretty nice-looking bunch,” said Mitch. He was enjoying his favorite spectator sport.
“Yeah. I’ve been away from this house too long.”
They grinned at each other.
“Who’s that one over there? By the fireplace?”
Charlie followed his gaze. “Oh, in the red? Boy, you’re coming back to life.” He laughed and slapped Mitch on the back. “That’s Mary Lou Baker, the house president. Nice gal.”
“You know her?”
“Used to. Haven’t seen her for a while. Let’s go over.”
Mitch hung back. He liked looking better than doing. But Charlie was striding across the living room and rather than be left stranded Mitch tagged after him. Charlie in action made a beautiful study in savoir faire. Mitch admired it, with secret envy.
Mary Lou looked up and smiled at Charlie as he came up. “Well, Charlie Ayers!” she said. “How are you? Gee, I haven’t seen you for ages.”
“Mary Lou, I’d forgotten how pretty you are.”
She laughed a little, pleased and embarrassed.
Mitch stood and looked at her in the same way he had stood and looked at Beth, with a sort of goodhearted and passive admiration that rarely asked for more than a look.
“I hear you’ve been seeing Laura Landon,” Mary Lou said to Charlie.
“Um-hm.” He smiled.
“Isn’t she a sweet girl? She’s one of our best pledges. We’re really fond of her.”
“Yes, she is
