"We-el…" Rose nodded. "I suppose you're right, Nick. How long do you think we'll have to wait before it will be safe?"
"I'd say a year or two, anyways," I said. "Prob'ly two years would be best."
Rose said she didn't think two years would be best. Not for her it wasn't. One year was going to be a goddamned plenty to wait, and she wasn't sure she'd even wait that long.
"But we got to! My gosh, honey," I said. "We can't take no chances, right when we've got everything the way we want it. That wouldn't make no sense, now would it?"
"Everything isn't the way I want it! Not by a hell of a long shot!"
"But looky, looky, honey," I said. "You just agreed that we had to be god-danged careful, and now you-"
"Oh, all right," Rose laughed, kind of pouting. "I'll try to be sensible, Nick. But don't you forget I've got my brand on you. Don't you forget it for a minute!"
"Why, honey," I said. "What a thing to say! Why for would I want another woman when I've got you?"
"I mean it, Nick! I mean every word of it!"
I said sure, I knew she did, so what was she carryin' on about? She untensed a little, and patted me on the cheek.
"I'm sorry, honey. We'll see each other tonight, hmmm? You know, after Myra's gone to sleep."
"I don't see no reason why not," I said, wishing to gosh I could see a reason.
"Mmm! I can hardly wait!" she kissed me and jumped up. "I wonder if that goddam dress is dry yet."
It was dry. Probably a heck of a lot dryer than I was, what with all the sweating I was doing. I thought to myself, Nick Corey, how in the good gosh-dang do you get in these god-dang messes? You got to be with Rose tonight; you just don't dare not to be with her. And you got to be with Amy Mason tonight. Anyway, you're sure aching to be with Amy, even if you don't have to be. So-
But I did have to be.
I just didn't know it yet.
16
Myra was waiting for us at the head of the stairs when me and Rose arrived, and the two of 'em practically fell into each other's arms. Myra said, you poor, poor dear, and Rose said, oh, what would I ever do without you, Myra, and then they both busted out bawling.
Myra made the most noise, of course, even though it was more Rose's place to do it, and she'd been practising all the way into town. There just wasn't no one that could beat Myra when it came to noisemaking. She started to steer Rose into her bedroom, her eyes on Rose instead of where she was going, and she bumped spang into Lennie. She whirled and gave him a slap that almost made me hurt. Then she hit him again because he yelled.
"Now, you shut up!" she warned him. "Just shut up and behave yourself. Poor Rose has enough trouble without putting up with your racket!"
Lennie clenched his teeth to keep from bawling; I almost felt kind of sorry for him. Fact is, I felt real sorry for him, but right while I was doing it, I felt something else. Because that's the way I am, I guess. I start feeling sorry for people, like Rose, for example, or even Myra or Uncle John or, well, lots of folks, and the way it eventually works out is it'd be a lot better if I hadn't felt sorry for them. Better for them, I mean. And I guess that's natural enough, you know? Because when you're sorry for someone, you want to help them, and when it sinks in on you that you can't, that there's too god-danged many of them, that everywhere you look there's someone, millions of someones, and you're only one man an' no one else cares an'-an'-
We were having an oven supper that night, which was a good thing since Myra was so long in the bedroom with Rose. Finally, they came out, and I patted Rose on the shoulder and told her she'd have to be brave. She rested her head against my chest for a moment, like she just couldn't help herself, and I gave her another pat.
"Now, that's right, Nick," Myra said. "You just take care of Rose, and I'll get supper on."
"I'll sure do that," I said, "me an' Lennie'll both take care of her, won't we, Lennie?"
Lennie scowled, blaming Rose naturally because Myra had hit him. Myra gave him a frown and told him he'd better watch his step. Then she went into the kitchen to take up supper.
It was god-danged good, being a company meal. Rose remembered to bust into tears now and then, and say that she just couldn't eat a bite. But she couldn't have put away much more without letting out her dress.
Myra filled up our coffee cups, and brought in dessert, two kinds of pie and a chocolate cake. Rose had some of each, shedding a few tears at intervals to show that she was just forcin' herself.
We finished eating. Rose got up to help, but of course, Myra wouldn't hear of it.
"No, sir, no, siree! You sit right down there on the settee, and rest your poor dear self!"
"But it's not fair to leave you with all the work, Myra, darling," Rose said. "I could at least do-"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing!" Myra shooed her away. "You're going to sit down, that's what you're going to do. Nick, you entertain Rose while I'm busy."
"Why, sure," I said. "Nothin' I'd enjoy more than entertainin' Rose!"
Rose had to bite her lip to keep from laughin'. We went over to the settee and sat down, and Myra gathered up an armful of dishes and started for the kitchen.
Lennie was lolling on a chair with his eyes closed. But I knew they weren't closed tight. That was a trick of his, pretending to be asleep, and I guess he must have liked it real well because this was about the umpteenth time he'd tried to pull it on me.
I whispered to Rose, "How about a little kiss, honey?"
Rose shot a quick look at Lennie and the kitchen door, and said, "Let's have a big one." And we had a big one.
And Lennie's eyes and mouth flew open at the same time, and he let out a yell. "My-ra! Myra, come quick, Myra!"
There was a heck of a clatter as Myra dropped something in the kitchen. A stack of dishes, it sounded like. She ran in, scared out of her wits, looking like she expected the house to be on fire.
"What? What, what?" she said. "What's going on? What's the matter, Lennie?"
"They was huggin' and kissin', Myra!" Lennie pointed at Rose and me. "I seen 'em, huggin' and kissin'."
"Why, Lennie," I said. "How can you say such a awful thing?"
"You was too! I seen you!"
"Now, you know that ain't so!" I said. "You know god-danged good an' well what happened."
"Just what did happen?" Myra said, looking kind of uncertainly from Rose to me. "I'm-I'm sure there must be a, uh, mistake, but-"
Rose started crying again, burying her face in her hands. She got up, saying she was going home because she just couldn't stay another minute in a place where people said such awful things about her.
Myra put out a hand to stop her, and said, "Nick, will you kindly tell me what this is all about?"
"They was huggin' and kissin', that's what!" Lennie yelled. "I seen 'em!"
"Hush, hush, Lennie! Nick?"
"T'heck with it," I said, sounding mad. "You can believe any god-danged thing you want to. I tell you this, though, this is the last god-danged time I try to comfort anyone when they're feelin' bad!"