“Charlie, we have to get back,” she said. And, “You’re holding me too tight.”
But he only shook his head and kept her there. He had never been so attracted to a girl. It just couldn’t have happened any other way. He pulled her out of the crowd and into the shadow of the heavy drapes by the bandstand and gave her just time to say, “No—” before he kissed her.
When he released her she said, “Charlie, please, for God’s sake—”
“I know,” he said and gave her his handkerchief. “Don’t talk about it. I know.”
“No, you don’t,” she said, wiping off the smeared lipstick. “You couldn’t. Let’s get back.” But she didn’t want to.
It was a while before she could look at Laura again; the whole evening was different, irrevocably changed. It wasn’t Laura she wanted that night, but it was Laura she would have.
Nine
Mitch was mad. It happened very rarely, but Charlie had muscled in on his date. He walked stiffly into their apartment. Charlie sighed and followed him in.
“Okay, Mitch, I’m sorry. So we both like the girl. We both want the girl. Okay, so we both call her.”
“But that’s just the point. You act as if you own every woman you look at, damn it. You—”
“I act like it but I don’t.”
“You make them think—”
“Oh, Mitch, for God’s sake, that’s a lot of crap. That’s a lot of damn crap. You go around with your nose out of joint because you think I’m better equipped to seduce women than you are.”
“Well, let’s face it.”
“Oh, let’s face it, hell. Do you think a girl like Beth would fall for a face? For a lot of crap? Well, do you?”
“Any girl could be fooled.”
“Well, would you like to know how well I fooled your precious date? I danced with her, remember? Do you know what I said to her?”
“No.”
“I told her she was beautiful. Yeah, just like that. And what do you think she said to me?”
“I don’t know,” said Mitch with polite sarcasm.
“She said, Thanks, Charlie, so are you.’ Now, what do you think she meant by that?”
Mitch glowered at him, and said nothing.
“She meant, ‘You’re an ass, Ayers. You’re a damn ass and you’re not fooling me.’ Okay, I’m an ass. My God, I know what I am. It’s just that women like that crap—most women. Now, do you think a girl like Beth thinks I’m Prince Charming, or something? Hell no, she thinks I’m an ass. Quit harping on the thing.”
“Harping? Who’s harping? You’re doing all the talking.”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Charlie muttered. “All right, the hell with it. Do you want to know what your trouble is, Grogan, Do you want to know what your son-of-a-bitching trouble is? Well, I’ll tell you. You don’t want Beth Cullison; you just want a girl.” Charlie sighed. “Let’s just forget it. We’ll talk about it later.” Mitch sat motionless. “Women,” Charlie growled. He went to the washbowl and brushed his teeth viciously and then he got into bed. “Come on, Mitch, you can’t sit there all night.”
Mitch stood up very slowly and got out of his clothes and into his pajamas without a word. Charlie rolled over and shut his eyes and tried to figure out a way to see Beth, Mitch or no Mitch. He tossed around for a long while before he got to sleep.
Beth was a long time getting to sleep herself that night, too. Emily wouldn’t go to bed until the birds were nearly ready to get up. Beth was too tired to want anything but sleep; too full of Charlie, too upset for Laura. But still, she was committed.
When Emily finally went off and Beth and Laura were alone, Laura could see that Beth was in a faraway and pensive mood. For a while she said nothing. Laura sat down on the couch and looked up at Beth as she might have gazed at a distant cloud, so lovely, so hard to know, so impossible to clasp and keep. The first drops of melancholy began to spatter in Laura when Beth turned out the light and came over to the bed and pulled Laura down in it beside her. She held her close and they lay still for a little while, warming each other, occupied with their thoughts.
“Beth,” Laura whispered finally, “are you unhappy about something?”
“No, honey.” Her voice was very soft. “Should I be?”
“I don’t know. You sort of—acted as if you were.”
“No, baby, I’m not unhappy.” She frowned in the dark.
“Sometimes—sometimes I think I don’t know you at all, Beth.”
Beth said nothing. It was true.
“I know about the little things, but—I don’t know anything about what makes you the way you are. I’m afraid I never will.”
Beth squeezed her gently. “Maybe I’m not worth it. Maybe it doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does.” She sounded urgent. “We won’t always be together like this, Beth.”
“Nothing lasts forever.”
And Laura fell silent, as silent as her tears. Beth held her, unknowing; wondering sleepily at Charlie’s invulnerable composure. She was startled out of near sleep when Laura said, some while later, “What do you really think of Charlie?”
“Mmmm… he’s conceited.”
“Is that all?”
“No. I don’t know. He’s a nice guy, I guess. I don’t know…”
Laura felt her uncertainty as a worse threat than her positive admiration would have been. Under the spell of possible threats she snuggled closer to Beth, feeling, like a pain, the fragile sweetness of every moment with her. She thought briefly of Charlie, and she swore to herself, He won’t have her! I’ll fight for her!
“All right, baby?” Beth murmured.
“No!” Laura whispered. “No,
