He picked up her lead at once. “I remember.”
“Well, the way that things are, and after what’s happened, it doesn’t seem to make much difference anymore. I guess that we might as well have a little fun while we can.”
“Good,” he answered her. “I feel very much the same way. How about after work tonight? We could have dinner…”
“As good a time as any, I guess.” The line went dead.
He hoped, almost fervently, that the call marked the beginning he had been waiting for. He remembered the risk, but he thrust that thought aside; there would be no point in trying to exist like a vegetable. If he couldn’t be around at the finish some others would be. And they might remember his name.
When his watch at last told him that he was free to go, he locked his desk just to give them trouble opening it, wrote “T.G.I.F.” on his calendar pad, and felt for a few moments that he was again the master of his own destiny. As he made his way toward the West Gate he realized that he didn’t know the girl’s last name and had no idea where she lived. It didn’t matter; what he did know was that Landers had vouched for her and that was enough.
She was waiting for him outside, wrapped in a coat which to some degree concealed her succulent figure, but not the striking black hair. Fcr an instant he wished that the rendezvous was a real one; Barbara in bed was something sensational to contemplate.
As he approached her she nodded slightly in recognition. He walked up and asked, “Did you bring a car?”
“A cab would be better, I think.” He liked her voice and the way she spoke. She kept it from being a demand or an order; it was a suggestion he could override if he wanted to.
Frank was there waiting; without explanation Hewlitt put her inside, climbed in himself, and then asked, “Where to?”
“Drive out toward Maryland,” Barbara said. “I’ll show you where.”
Obediently Frank started up and headed out in a northwesterly direction. The usual Friday after-work traffic was far heavier than normal; there had been rumors all week of a severe gasoline rationing program to come, coupled with that was the apparent desire of all who could to get out of a city that promised nothing but greater disaster to follow. Following Barbara’s occasional directions Frank worked his cab slowly through the almost impossible congestion until they reached the state line. A half mile farther on she stopped him before a good-sized shopping center and indicated to Hewlitt that she wanted to get out.
He asked no questions. He handed her out of the cab and reached in to pay the bill, but Frank nodded with his head that he was to come to the other side. Hewlitt walked around the car and then leaned in. Frank took the bill which he offered and then asked, “Did I take you back to your place tonight, or what?”
Hewlitt appreciated that; he was a good man and clearly he was willing to take a chance if he was asked to do so.
“No,” he answered. “If anybody asks you, I had a young lady with me — they’ll know that anyway. You took us over to the Maryland side and dropped us off somewhere around here. You may not remember exactly.”
“That’s no joke in this traffic,” Frank said. “Then that’s how it is. You be wanting me later?”
“Maybe, but right now I can’t say.”
With his change Frank handed him a card; it stated with proper formality Taxi and in one corner frank jordan. At the other corner was a telephone number.
Hewlitt put the change and the card in his wallet together, spoke his thanks, and rejoined Barbara, who was waiting silently for his return. When the cab was gone she led him casually past the stores which were still putting up a brave show of carrying on the usual way of life. The window displays were as bright as ever; from the record mart hard rock music came surging out of the door. It was America on any Friday night, on this one pretending as best it could that nothing had happened.
The real estate office was well back toward the rear and behind a row of other shops which depended much more on eye appeal for their trade. Barbara walked in the door with the kind of familiarity which implies an established relationship and leaned on the railing before the one occupied desk.
The woman seated there was short, solidly built, and had white pudgy fingers. Her hair was cascaded up into an artificial arrangement which made claims that her body could not fulfill. Vermilion lipstick accentuated the lines worn into her face; the eyebrow makeup was an anachronism which had been applied twenty years too late in her life. A certain hardness emanated from her; it told of the years that she had spent earning her own way, of the disappointments she had had, of the few pleasures that had come her way. It told also of a hard-gotten bank balance that was her security against the fate that life had prepared for her, and that she would guard it with her life’s blood. She was a businesswoman.
She looked up, offered a mechanical, commercially approved smile, and asked, “May I help you?”
“This is the gentleman,” Barbara said. There was no emotion in her voice, the heavy restraint she had maintained since Hewlitt had picked her up remained intact.
“Oh, yes, of course.” The woman got up, crossed to the wall behind her, and surveyed a board hung with keys. After some scrutiny she took down a set from one of the hooks, checked the tag, and then brought it back to the counter. “This is really a very nice place,” she said. “It’s not too far from here; you can walk if you want to. Take your time looking it over; if you don’t want to see it tonight you can go in the morning, just so long as I get the keys back by noon.”
“That’s fine,” Barbara said. She dropped the keys into her purse, gave Hewlitt an unexpected half smile, and led the way out. When they were by themselves she turned and said, “There’s a little restaurant here, if you like Chinese food.”
His mind was confused as he nodded. He was prepared to follow any clue that she gave him, but the tone of her initial invitation over the telephone, plus the business of the keys, had him slightly off balance. They were a long way from the White House now and there was no visible need for play acting. Despite this, her mood and actions appeared to be directed along a single pathway which gave him a strong feeling that he was simply along for the ride.
They ate together in a small but quite attractive little restaurant which clearly outclassed the one which Hewlitt occasionally visited near his home. It was much newer, the menus were less thumb-worn, and the decor was more subtly conceived. The food, as far as he could tell, was the same. They sat in a booth making conversation which had little shape and definition. They spoke to each other from time to time, exchanging bits of trivia, but saying nothing. Hewlitt enjoyed Barbara’s company, but the occasion was too heavily overshadowed for it to be anything more than a surface pleasure. He realized that there were many things he would have liked to have said to her if the circumstances had been less strained. This time he was entirely following her lead; she had started this game and until he knew what the rules were he was content to wait.
Barbara excused herself while he was paying the bill; he wondered if she had gone to telephone. She rejoined him promptly enough to dispel that notion and then led the way outside. When they were by themselves once more she turned and asked, “Would you like to go and look at the house now?”
“Fine,” he answered. He still did not know what she really had in mind. There was an obvious explanation and he considered it carefully: they had met semisocially and, while he did not regard himself as anything exceptional as a potential lover, it could be that her purely animal instincts called for masculine company. Under such circumstances she might well prefer someone who could be relied upon to keep his mouth shut. It was doubtful if she was concerned with protecting what once would have been called her reputation; too many girls regarded that consideration as archaic and too many men no longer desired a spotless virgin for a bride. But when a girl who carried the responsibilities that she undoubtedly did chose to relax, she would have good reason to want a companion she could trust.