From Here to Eternity_ The Restored Edit - Jones, James [189]
“Oh,” she said lightly, “I just couldnt see any reason why you should. After all, I did sort of coerce you into making the date. Didnt I?”
“No,” he lied.
“Yes I did, you know I did.”
“I wouldnt of come if I dint want to, would I?”
“No,” she agreed. “You see?” she said lightly. “Thats the same question I’ve been sitting here asking myself for the last half hour. But then I came too early, didnt I? I must have been over anxious. You werent over anxious though, were you? You got here right on the dot.”
“Whats eating you?” Warden said, looking at and not liking the tensed primness she was still sitting in. “Relax, why dont you? Take it easy.”
“Oh,” she said, “I’m completely relaxed. Its just that I’ve had five chances to be picked up in the past half hour, before you came.”
“Is that whats bothering you? Hell, thats nothing, thats SOP around here.”
“One of the offers,” Karen said lightly, “was from a woman.”
“A big tall wide-shouldered dyed-blonde woman?”
“Why, yes,” Karen said. “Do you know her?”
“If you mean is she a personal friend of mine, the answer’s no.”
“Oh,” Karen said. “Well, I only wondered.”
“Well dont wonder. I know of her. Every dogface knows of her. She hangs around here all the time and tries to pick them up. The doggies call her The Virgin of Waikiki. Does that satisfy you?”
“You certainly picked a savory spot for our love tryst, darling,” Karen said.
“I picked it because there was less chance of being seen by somebody you know. Would you rather of met me in the cocktail lounge of the Royal?”
“I dont think so,” Karen smiled lightly. “But you must remember I’m rather new at this sort of thing, darling. All this stealthy secretiveness as if we were doing something sinful. All this having to sneak around corners. All this back alley loving.”
“You’re beginning to sound like the local president of the PTA,” Warden said. “You got any better ideas how to work it?”
“No,” Karen said lightly. “No, I havent.” She looked back at the softly breathing water and took her Up between her teeth again. “You dont have to be gallant with me, Milt,” she said. “If you’re bored already, or tired, why just say so. Just come right out and say so, it wont hurt my feelings, really it wont, darling. I understand about men getting tired quickly.” She loosed her lip and smiled up at him painfully lightly, obviously waiting for the protest.
“What the hell makes you think I want to back out of anything?”
“Because you probably think I am a whore,” she said succinctly, and looked up at him and waited.
He could see he was expected to protest this too and tell her no, but he was looking at the battered husky face of Maylon Stark hanging amorphously on the palm tree, Stark was very masculine she probably cozily enjoyed it a lot with Stark, and he was having all he could do to keep from banging up his other hand.
“What makes you think I’d think you were a whore?” he asked, knowing it was the wrong answer.
Karen laughed, her face curling up suddenly—he thought—with all the sweet prim terrorism of a well-embalmed old maid.
“Why, Milt darling,” she smiled, “you mean you cant see it on my face? Other people see it. My five pickups must have seen it, and the woman surely saw it. The Virgin of Waikiki,” she said. “What a person is always shows on their face, you know; as a man thinketh so is he,” she quoted. “You dont really believe they’d try to pick up a decent woman?”
“Hell yes. They’d try to pick up any woman, and almost any man. Down here.”
“But even the room clerk at the Moana saw it, when I registered as Sgt & Mrs H L Martin. I could see it plainly on his face that he saw it.”
“For Christ’s sake,” Warden