The Trouble With Eden - Lawrence Block [56]
“And when it happened the second time? With your second wife, I mean.”
“Then I had to face facts, that it was me.”
She put her cup down and turned to him. “This is very interesting,” she said. “I’m glad we’re talking. You ever have trouble with other girls?”
“Never.”
“It always works. They don’t have to do anything special or anything.”
“All they have to do is be there.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Same as it used to be with us.”
She looked at him thoughtfully for a long moment, then turned away and sipped coffee. Without looking at him she said, “Truth time. Do you want a divorce?”
“No. Unless you do, in which case you’ve got it. For me, no.”
“Even if I screwed a guy tonight?”
“Even if you did. I hate it that you did, but what right have I got?”
“Suppose I made a habit of it.”
“You mean with one particular guy?”
“No, I don’t mean with one particular guy and I don’t mean walking around town with a mattress on my back. I mean doing what you do.”
“Sauce for the goose,” he said.
“Not exactly, but I’ll tell you, I needed what I got tonight.”
“Uh-huh. Well, as to how would I feel, I don’t know how to answer you. As far as people talking I never paid attention yet, but how I’d feel, hell, I don’t know.”
“I don’t know.” She got to her feet. “I’m kinda sleepy,” she said. “How about you?”
“I don’t know. Tired, but I don’t know if I could sleep. But I know I should. I’ll come up with you.”
He lay in bed beside her trying to figure out how he felt. It was a strange feeling and he could not understand it. She had been with another man and he felt that it ought to bother him more than it did. It was on his mind, it was very much on his mind, yet it did not genuinely bother him, and he wondered why that should be.
After awhile he said, “You won’t tell me who it was?”
“No. Would you tell me who was the last girl you laid?”
“You tell me and I’ll tell you. No, come to think of it, I see what you mean. Tell me this. Do I know him?”
“I don’t know who you know and who you don’t know.”
“Well, tell me who he is and I’ll clear that little point up for you. Just joking. Where did you go with him?”
“A motel.”
“Meaning he’s married. If people stopped fucking each other’s wives they’d take motels and make parking lots out of them. Was he good? You already said he was good. What motel did you go to?”
“So you can check the register?”
“Jesus, I wouldn’t do that. I don’t even know why I asked. I was just trying to picture it.”
“Well, just picture me in a room with somebody and let it go at that.”
“How many times?”
She sat up. “Hey, what is this?”
“How many times did he screw you?”
“What do you want to know that for? Twice.”
“Two times. You come both times? I guess you did, enjoying it that much.”
She was silent for a few moments. Then she said, “I came the first time and not the second time. I don’t have to come to enjoy it.”
“He go down on you?”
“Next time I’ll take movies. I don’t—”
“Did he or didn’t he?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Some gentleman you picked. How about you? You go down on him?”
“Jesus, I don’t believe it. Yes, as a matter of fact I did. What’s the next question? Was he circumcised? Yes, he was. Did he come in my mouth? No, he didn’t. I don’t get it with these questions.”
“I don’t get it myself,” he said. A few minutes later he touched her arm and said, “Come here a minute.”
“I was just falling asleep.”
“Not until you see the present I brought you.”
He took her hand and put it on his penis.
“Well, what do you know about that?” she said. “Where did that come from?”
“Damned if I know. Is two times all you can handle tonight, or do you want to see what happens?”
“Let’s see what happens.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Afterward she lit a cigarette and offered it to him. He shook his head. She