The Dark Arena - Mario Puzo [7]
He saw her face get red. She went over to the armchair facing him and sat down.
“I loved you before that,” she said. He saw that her mouth was quivering, and he tossed her the pack of cigar rettes, then sipped his drink and tried to reason everything out.
His desire was gone, and he actually felt a sense of relief. Why, he didn't know. There was no doubt in his mind that he could talk or threaten Gloria into doing what he wished. He knew that if he said, “This is the way it has to be or else,” she would yield. He knew that he had been too abrupt and that with some patience and a little finesse the evening would end pleasantly. But he found with surprise that the effort was too much trouble for him to take. He was completely without desire.
“It's okay. Come over here.”
She came obediently. “You're not angry?” she asked in a low voice.
He kissed her and smiled. “No, it doesn't matter.’ he said, and it was true.
Gloria put her head on his shoulder. “Let's just stay here like this tonight and talk. We've never really had a chance to talk together since you've come back.”
Mosca pulled away and went to get her coat “We're going to the movies,” he said
“I want to stay here.”
Mosca said with a deliberate, brutal carelessness, “It's either go to the movies or get laid.”
She stood up and looked at Mm steadily. “And you don't care which.”
“That's right”
He expected her to put on her coat and walk out of the apartment But she waited submissively until he had combed his hair and knotted his tie. They went to the movies.
It was nearly noon, a month later, that Mosca, coming into the apartment, found Alf, his mother, and Gloria's sister, Emmy, drinking coffee in the kitchen.
“Do you want some coffee?” his mother asked.
“Yeah, just let me wash up a bit” Mosca went into the bathroom and smiled grimly as he wiped his face dry before going back to the kitchen.
They all sipped coffee, and then Emmy opened the attack.
“You're not treating Gloria right She waited three years for you, she never had a date, and she missed a lot of chances.”
“A lot of chances for what?” Mosca asked. Then he laughed. “We're getting along okay. It takes time.”
Emmy said, “You had a date with her last night, you didn't show up. You get home now. It isn't right what you're doing.”
His mother saw that Mosca was getting angry and said placatingly, “Gloria waited here until two in the morning; you should have called up.”
“And we all know what you're doing,” Emmy said “You leave a girl who waited for you three years to go out with the neighborhood chippie, a girl who's had three abortions and God knows what else.”
Mosca shrugged. “I can't see your sister every night.”
“No, you're too important for that.” He saw with surprise that she really hated hint
“It was everybody's idea that we wait until I get a steady job,” Mosca reminded her.
“I didn't know what a bastard you'd turn out to be. If you don't want to get married, tell Gloria. Don't worry, die can find somebody else.”
Alf spoke up. “That's silly. Of course Walter wants to marry her. Let's be sensible about this. He's finding things a bit strange; hell get over it. Hie thing for us to do is help him.”
Emmy said sarcastically, “If Gloria slept with him everything would be fine. You'd be readjusted, wouldn't you, Walter?”
“This is getting stupid,” Alf said. “Let's get down to fundamentals. You're angry because Walter is having an affair and isn't bothering to hide it, which is the least he could do. All right. Gloria is too crazy about Walter to give him the air. I think the best thing to do is to set a marriage date.”
“And my sister keeps working while he runs around with all the little whores like he did in Germany?”
Mosca looked at his mother coldly, and she dropped her eyes away from his. There was a silence. “Yes,” Emmy said quietly, “your mother told Gloria about the letters you get from that girl in Germany. You should be ashamed, Walter, honestly you should.”
“Those letters don't mean a thing,”