A Hole in the Universe - Mary McGarry Morris [67]
“I thought you said you’d never been here before,” he whispered.
“I didn’t go to the party. I just helped Albert, that’s all. There were so many things to do. Like the guest list, the invitations. And the menu. Albert’s no good with details. It was a surprise, so all the RSVPs had to come into the store, of course. It was almost like planning a wedding, which I also did, by the way, for my baby sister, Babbie. You probably don’t remember Babbie, though, do you?” The wine was light on her tongue. Her cheeks felt flushed. “She would have been just a little kid then when we knew each other.”
“No, I don’t remember her.”
“Babbie lives in Dearborn. She has two girls. They’re so adorable. Her husband’s in software. Dwayne, he makes all kinds of money. And I love him, but he is the cheapest man I have ever met. Whenever my sister buys clothes she has to lie and say they’re from me.” Delores could feel herself talking with the same reckless extravagance as Babbie’s shopping, the dizzying spree of confidences spent with full knowledge of the inevitable regret. Disloyalty was the greatest sin, yet intimacy continually demanded it of her. He asked about the sisters he remembered, Karen and Linda. They were finishing their racks of lamb when she realized she was still answering him. Stopping abruptly, she apologized. Here she was going on and on about herself while he just sat there being so polite.
“No, I’m really interested. There’s so much catching up to do. Everything’s so changed.” The neighborhood, for example; Ronnie Feaster and his crew hanging out every day now on Mrs. Jukas’s porch.
“Ronnie Feaster!” she said. “He’s horrible. Absolutely despicable. Albert caught him selling drugs once in the alley behind the store. He told him to leave or else he was calling the police, and that very night someone broke into the store and trashed the place. But worst of all, you know what they left on Albert’s desk?” She leaned forward. “A pile of—oh, I shouldn’t say it while we’re eating, but you know what I mean. It had to be the worst thing anyone ever did to Albert. He’s very finicky. Poor man, he can’t even stand the sound of someone blowing their nose. Turns his stomach. Some people are just so sensitive. It’s the same thing with being hot or cold. Or pain. It’s got to be something in the nerve endings. He just feels things so much more intensely than the average person.”
“Then how could he just fire you like that if he’s so sensitive?” Gordon asked.
“Because,” she began, relieved now as the busboy arrived to clear their plates. Because she had been too strong a force buffeting his delicate nature. Because her every offering had to be momentous, the biggest and best. Because her generosity frightened people, made them wonder what she wanted in return. “Because he had no other choice,” she explained after the busboy left.
“But he’s the boss. He should be able to find a place for you.”
“Well, I guess he couldn’t,” she said, teary-eyed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
Touched by his concern, she nodded. The blurred dining room with its flickering candles and myriad conversations seemed to flow into a low, dark thrum. She loved eating out. It was such a sensual atmosphere, feeding off everyone else’s hunger until her belly ached with it. When was the last time he’d had a woman? If ever. My God, what would his first time be like? Stop it, she thought, even now hearing her mother tell some aunt, neighbor, total stranger, I’ve never seen such an appetite. She’s the only one of all the girls.
Before Delores could stop her, the waitress had handed the bill to Gordon, his brow knit, lips moving, as he stared at it. She asked him for it. After all, she was the one who had asked him out.
“I’ll pay for it.” He took a deep breath, then began counting out twenty-dollar bills onto the pewter bill tray. She removed his money and replaced it with her credit card. He tried to argue, but she absolutely insisted. Next time would be his treat, she allowed with breezy