The Wapshot Chronicle - John Cheever [112]
In the living room Josie had taken Betsey into her arms. “There, there, honey,” Josie was saying, “there, there, there. It’s all over. Nothing happened. I’ll fix your dress. I’ll get you a new dress. He just had too much to drink, that’s all. He’s got the wandering hands. He’s got the wandering hands and he just had too much to drink. Those hands of his, he’s always putting them someplace where they don’t belong. Honey, this isn’t the first time. Even when he’s asleep those hands of his are feeling around all the time until they get hold of something. Even when he’s asleep, honey. There, there, don’t you worry about it any more. Think of me, think of what I have to put up with. Thank God you’ve got a nice, clean husband like Coverly. Think of poor me, think of poor Josie trying to be cheerful all the time and going around picking up after him. Oh, I’m so tired of it. I’m so tired of trying to make his mistakes good. And if we get a couple of dollars ahead he sends it to this kid brother in Cornell. He’s in love with this kid brother, he loves him more than he loves me or you or anybody. He spoils him. It makes my blood boil. He’s living up there like a regular prince in a dormitory with his own bathroom and fancy clothes while I’m mending and sewing and scrubbing to save the price of a cleaning woman so that he can send this college boy an allowance or a new sports jacket or a tennis racket or something. Last year he was worried because the kid didn’t have an extra-special heavy overcoat and I said to him, I said, Max, I said, now look here. You’re worrying yourself sick because he doesn’t have a winter coat, but what about me? Did it ever occur to you that I didn’t have a good winter coat? Did it ever cross your mind that your loving wife is just as entitled to a coat as your kid brother? Did you ever look at it that way? And you know what he said? He said it was cooler up where this college is than it was in Montana where we was living. It didn’t make any impression on him at all. Oh, it’s terrible to be married to a man who’s got something on his mind like that all the time. Sometimes it just makes my blood boil, seeing how he spoils him. But we have to take the lean with the fat, don’t we? Into every real friendship a little rain must fall. Let’s pretend it was that, honey, shall we, let’s pretend it was just a little rain. Let’s go and get the men and drink a friendship cup and let bygones be bygones. Let’s pretend it was just a little rain.”
In the kitchen they found Max still sitting on the floor and Coverly standing by the sink, cracking his knuckles, but Betsey went to Coverly and pleaded with him in a whisper to forget it. “We’re all going to be friends again,” Josie said loudly. “Come on, come on, it’s all forgotten. We’re all going into the living room and drink a friendship cup and anyone who won’t drink out of the friendship cup is a rotten egg.” Max followed her into the living room and Betsey led Coverly behind. Josie filled a large glass with rum and Coke. “Here’s for auld lang syne,” she said. “Let bygones be bygones. Here’s to friendship.” Betsey began to cry and they all drank from the glass. “Well, I guess we are friends again, aren’t we,” Betsey said, “and I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you just to prove it, I’ll tell you something I had in the back of my mind and that’s even more important to me after this. Saturday is my birthday and I want you and Max