“I thought he loved me, honestly I did Elaine. Oh men are so dweadful. Morris was angwy because I wouldn’t live with him. I think it would be wicked. I’d work my fingers to the bone for him, he knows that. Havent I been doing it two years? He said he couldnt go on unless he had me weally, you know what he meant, and I said our love was so beautiful it could go on for years and years. I could love him for a lifetime without even kissing him. Dont you think love should be pure? And then he made fun of my dancing and said I was Chalif’s mistwess and just kidding him along and we quaweled dweadfully and he called me dweadful names and went away and said he’d never come back.”
“Dont worry about that Cassie, he’ll come back all right.”
“No but you’re so material, Elaine. I mean spiwitually our union is bwoken forever. Cant you see there was this beautiful divine spiwitual thing between us and it’s bwoken.” She began to sob again with her face pressed into Ellen’s shoulder.
“But Cassie I dont see what fun you get out of it all?”
“Oh you dont understand. You’re too young. I was like you at first except that I wasnt mawied and didnt wun awound with men. But now I want spiwitual beauty. I want to get it through my dancing and my life, I want beauty everywhere and I thought Morris wanted it.”
“But Morris evidently did.”
“Oh Elaine you’re howid, and I love you so much.”
Ellen got to her feet. “I’m going to run downstairs so that the taximan wont ring the bell.”
“But you cant go like this.”
“You just watch me.” Ellen gathered up the bundle of books in one hand and in the other carried the black leather dressingcase. “Look Cassie will you be a dear and show him the trunk when he comes up to get it. … And one other thing, when Stan Emery calls up tell him to call me at the Brevoort or at the Lafayette. Thank goodness I didnt deposit my money last week. … And Cassie if you find any little odds and ends of mine around you just keep em. … Goodbye.” She lifted her veil and kissed Cassie quickly on the cheeks.
“Oh how can you be so bwave as to go away all alone like this. … You’ll let Wuth and me come down to see you wont you? We’re so fond of you. Oh Elaine you’re going to have a wonderful career, I know you are.”
“And promise not to tell Jojo where I am. … He’ll find out soon enough anyway. … I’ll call him up in a week.”
She found the taxidriver in the hall looking at the names above the pushbuttons. He went up to fetch her trunk. She settled herself happily on the dusty buff seat of the taxi, taking deep breaths of the riversmelling morning air. The taxidriver smiled roundly at her when he had let the trunk slide off his back onto the dashboard.
“Pretty heavy, miss.”
“It’s a shame you had to carry it all alone.”
“Oh I kin carry heavier’n ’at.”
“I want to go to the Hotel Brevoort, Fifth Avenue at about Eighth Street.”
When he leaned to crank the car the man pushed his hat back on his head letting ruddy curly hair out over his eyes. “All right I’ll take you anywhere you like,” he said as he hopped into his seat in the jiggling car. When they turned down into the very empty sunlight of Broadway a feeling of happiness began to sizzle and soar like rockets inside her. The air beat fresh, thrilling in her face. The taxidriver talked back at her through the open window.
“I thought yous was catchin a train to go away somewhere, miss.”
“Well I am going away somewhere.”
“It’d be a foine day to be goin away somewhere.”
“I’m going away from my husband.” The words popped out of her mouth before she could stop them.
“Did he trow you out?”
“No I cant say he did that,” she said laughing.
“My wife trun me out tree weeks ago.”
“How was that?”
“Locked de door when I came home one night an wouldnt let me in. She’d had the lock changed when I was out workin.”
“That’s a funny thing to do.”
“She says I git slopped too often. I aint goin back to her an I aint goin to support her no more. … She can put me in jail if she likes. I’m troo. I’m gettin an apartment on Twentysecond Avenoo wid another feller an we’re goin to git a pianer an live quiet an lay offen the skoits.”
“Matrimony isnt much is it?”
“You said it. What leads up to it’s all right, but gettin married is loike de mornin after.”
Fifth Avenue was white and empty and swept by a sparkling wind. The trees in Madison Square were unexpectedly bright green like ferns in a dun room. At the Brevoort a sleepy French nightporter carried her baggage. In the low whitepainted room the sunlight drowsed on a faded crimson armchair. Ellen ran about the room like a small child kicking her heels and clapping her hands. With pursed lips and tilted head she arranged her toilet things on the bureau. Then she hung her yellow nightgown on a chair and undressed, caught sight of herself in the mirror, stood naked looking at herself with her hands on her tiny firm appleshaped breasts.
She pulled on her nightgown and went to the phone. “Please send up a pot of chocolate and rolls to 108 … as soon as you can please.” Then she got into bed. She lay laughing with her legs stretched wide in the cool slippery sheets.
Hairpins were sticking into her head. She sat up and pulled them all out and shook the heavy coil
