He regarded his immaculately groomed wife: her hair, glossy, her make-up, even at this late hour, perfect, her simple blue dress more than pleasing, and he thought of Karen in her with-it gear, throwing sex off like a laser beam.
‘Pretty?’
‘She’ll pass in a crowd.’ Now came the crunch. ‘There is something I forgot to tell you, honey. This school meeting has to be at four o’clock this Sunday.’
Betty stared at him, her eyes wide.
‘This Sunday! Ken! What are you thinking about? It’s Mary’s wedding anniversary!’
At the back of his mind, Ken had known that something had been arranged for Sunday, but he had been so carried away with his idea of talking to a room full of potential prospects, he had dismissed whatever had been arranged for something that could be postponed.
He looked at Betty in dismay.
‘I had completely forgotten! I’m sorry, but there was no way to get the school hall except this Sunday.’
‘But you can’t do this to Mary!’
Mary was Betty’s sister: a bossy, self-opinionated elder sister who Ken thoroughly disliked. Her husband, a corporation lawyer, was in Ken’s opinion, the biggest bore he had ever met. They had a large, imposing house in Fort Lauderdale. He remembered now they were to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary. He remembered Betty and he had been invited to a barbeque lunch, then a big dinner with a firework display.
‘The prospectus is being printed, honey. I’m terribly sorry.’
Betty made a gesture of despair.
‘Oh, Ken!’
‘I just can’t cancel, honey. Sunday is the only day. I’m terribly sorry.’
‘When will you be through?’
‘Well, the meeting begins at four o’clock. It depends on the turn out. I should be through by seven.’
Betty brightened.
‘Then you could come for the fireworks.’
Ken thought of listening to Mary’s dreary yak and Jack’s pomposity. Their friends were all drags, but he nodded.
‘Sure. You’ll go?’
‘Go? Of course. The party won’t be over until midnight. You just must put in an appearance. Mary and Jack would be so hurt.’
Ken restrained a sigh.
‘Just as soon as this meeting is over, I’ll be on my way.’
She relaxed.
‘I’ll tell Mary and Jack why you have been kept. They’ll be impressed that you are in charge.’ She got up and began to clear the dishes. As Ken helped her, she went on, ‘Will you be working from now on, so late?’
‘I hope not. The trouble is, as I told you, the guy who has to sign is at work, but this meeting could fix it. If it is a success, then I don’t see why I should have to work late. We’ll have to see.’
They went into the kitchen and cleared up.
‘I suppose it’s worth it,’ Betty said suddenly.
‘What’s worth what?’
‘If you will have to work so late, Ken, I’m not going to see much of you.’
He put his arm around her and gave her a little hug.
‘Oh, come on, honey. Could be I won’t have to work late hours. This is my big chance, and it’s started well. I’ve already made a hundred and ninety five dollars.’
‘Money isn’t everything.’
‘It helps, doesn’t it?’
In bed together, Betty sleeping, Ken lay awake. The brilliant moonlight made patterns on the wall. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t get Karen’s provocative body out of his mind.
It wasn’t until the sky turned pale, as dawn approached, that lie drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
The school meeting was a flop.
Ken realized this the moment he entered the hall and now there were only a few whites and blacks, sitting in the chairs that he, Karen and Henry Byrnes, the School Principal helped by the four young blacks who had distributed the prospectuses, had set up: enough seats to accommodate five hundred people.
As he stood on the platform, surveying the people he made a rapid count: thirty-four!
A flop of flops, he thought, but with a wide welcoming smile, he went into his carefully prepared sales talk. This time less than ten minutes, then he asked for questions. The questions came, and he answered them. There was a panic, then a white truck driver said it was a hot idea and he would sign. There was a flurry of voices, and by 16.30, twenty-eight of Ken’s audience had taken out insurance policies for the future of their kids. The remaining six said they wanted to think about it.
The meeting closed at 16.45.
When the last of the parents had gone, Byrnes came over to Ken.
‘I’m afraid, Mr. Brandon, you are disappointed,’ he said, ‘but I can assure you, you have a big success. I know these people. They don’t like meetings. That’s why there was such a poor turnout. For thirty-four of them to come here is an achievement. These thirty-four will be your salesmen. They are going to brag about what they have done for their kids. Here, in Secomb, people are all close neighbours. The word will go around. You wait... you are going to be busy.’
Ken thanked Byrnes for his cooperation, shook hands and walked out into the hot sunshine with Karen at his side.
‘I hope he’s right,’ he said. ‘To me, that was a godawful flop.’
‘I think he’s smart,’ Karen said. ‘He could be right.’
He regarded her. They both had agreed that they should present a better image for the meeting. She had on a simple green cotton dress. He wore a blue, lightweight jacket and grey slacks. He had only recently bought the jacket. It sported miniature golf balls as buttons which he thought made the jacket pretty sharp. As they stood in the hot sunshine, he thought Karen looked sensational.
The past five days had passed quickly. Twice Alec Hyams, the Sales Director, had looked in. Ken was secretly amused to see that Hyams was most obsequious when speaking to Karen, asking her if she was happy with her typewriter and the air conditioning. Karen treated him as if he were of no importance, and pointedly went on with her typing.
While waiting for Sunday, Ken had called on the various stores and shops up and down Seaview Road, introducing himself and talking fire and accident insurance. He didn’t expect to get any business as everyone was already covered with other insurance companies, but he wanted to make contact and friends. His reception was good. Several of the store owners said it would be more convenient for them to take out policies with the Paradise when the present policies ran out, and would talk to him later.
Ken saw little of Karen who was kept busy card indexing, typing letters and talking to the various people who drifted in, making inquiries. In one way, Ken was relieved not to be in such close contact with her, but always, at the back of his mind, especially at night, he kept thinking of her, sexually.
The office closed Friday evening. He spent Saturday tending the garden, then he and Betty went to a movie in the evening and had dinner at a seafood restaurant. He kept wondering what Karen was doing. She had said she had to spend Saturday afternoon on her father’s yacht. ‘That’s a real drag. Pop’s friends are creeps. Maybe I can find an excuse...’
He had seen Betty off on Sunday morning. She had again urged him to come to Fort Lauderdale as soon as he could, and he had said he would.
Now, with the meeting over at 16.45, he realized with dismay, he could be at Fort Lauderdale within the hour. This meant he would be stuck with his dreary sister-in-law and brother-in-law until midnight!
Karen said suddenly, ‘Are you a handyman around the house?’
Surprised, he stared at her.
‘Why sure. Why the question?’
‘Just wondered. I guess you have a date right now. You couldn’t spare a couple of hours?’
Ken’s heart began to thump.