He sat waiting for her on the bed. She came back from the bathroom in a little while, wearing a white robe over her naked body. She stood preening and putting on perfume in front of the mirror. John put out his pipe quickly and said in a hasty voice, hoarse with desire, “I’ll take a shower too.”
In a few minutes they were rolling in bed, naked in the soft light coming from the lamp on the bedside table. He started kissing her all over her face, hands, shoulders, and breasts. When he finally entered her, she whispered his name, which aroused him so much more that he thrust at her so hard she moaned with pleasure. She felt her whole being melting in his embrace, as if she was shedding her body and soaring high. From behind her closed eyes she caught a glimpse of colored lights shining in the dark and felt that she was close to coming. Suddenly, a vague, worrying feeling came over her. She tried to remove it from her consciousness, but her pleasure continued to seep away. John slowed down his thrusting movements little by little, and then stopped. It took her a moment to come to. She felt his big body moving away. He leaned on his knees and got off her. She extended her arms and clung to his shoulders and begged, “Stay with me.”
Hearing her own voice in the dark told her that what was happening was real. Graham withdrew more, always slowly, breathing heavily, not from pleasure this time but in agitation. He lowered his feet to the floor, sat on the edge of the bed, and turned his back to her. It took her another minute to collect herself. She got up and turned on the light and said in alarm, “What happened?”
He kept his head bowed. She moved toward him and her naked body appeared graceful and beautiful. She sat next to him and again spoke tentatively. “What’s wrong?”
Graham pushed her arm aside. He raised his head and looked at the ceiling. He opened his mouth to say something then bowed his head again. His voice came out hoarse. “Who is he?”
“Who are you talking about?” she asked as her eyes blazed with consternation. It took Graham some time to get up. She followed him and stood in front of him. He said in a louder voice, “Who did you sleep with?”
“John, are you crazy?”
He looked strange. He lit his pipe while still naked, then said with a resigned smile, “You and I are too intelligent to waste our time on accusations and denials. You’ve slept with someone. Who is he?”
“John!”
“I want to know his name.”
She fell silent until she got over the surprise then said in a pitifully fragile tone of voice, “You’ve got no right to accuse me.”
With lightning speed he slapped her on the face. She let out a loud cry. He moved away and said, “I may be old; I may be hanging on to old, worn-out ideas, but I’m not a fool. I have enough human experience not to be deceived by anyone. You’ve cheated on me, Carol. My feeling about your body doesn’t lie. I don’t understand why you’d do it. We’re not married. We don’t have to act stupidly. Why didn’t you leave me when you fell in love with somebody else?”
He was speaking in disconnected sentences while putting on his clothes and buckling his belt and placing his feet in his shoes. Once again he stood in front of her. She was still naked, her hand on her cheek. He said in a calmer voice, “I am sorry I slapped you. I’m leaving. I’ll stay in a hotel until you find another place. You’re rich now, you’ll easily find a place.”
“John!”
He ignored her and took two steps toward the door. She jumped behind him. “I didn’t cheat on you.”
“Lying won’t do you any good.”
“John,” she cried one last time and tried to embrace him, but he removed her arms forcibly. She cried, “I didn’t cheat on you. The head of the company used my body. That’s the truth. That was his condition: one time in return for the new contract. I couldn’t say no. I just couldn’t. I needed to think of my son. I assure you I haven’t betrayed you. All my feelings are with you. What I did with the man was disgusting and I almost throw up whenever I remember it. Our bodies hit each other, that was all. I didn’t betray you, John. I love you. Please stay with me.”
He had placed his hand on the doorknob. He kept looking at her as she confessed, then bowed his head forward, looking at that moment like an old, wretched man, helpless and weighed down with sorrow. As he closed the door he said, “When Mark wakes up in the morning, tell him I had to travel and that I love him very much.”
CHAPTER 40
The clock in the dorm lobby said it was 5:30 A.M. Ever since Shaymaa first arrived in Chicago, she had never left the building so early, but her errand this time was far away. She pushed the glass door with her hand
