WATER FOR ELEPHANT - Sara Gruen [81]
I close the door.
“Man, oh man,” says Walter, shaking his head. “I nearly had a heart attack. Shit, man. What the hell are we doing?”
“Hey, Camel,” I say. “You okay back there?”
“Yup,” says a thin voice from behind the trunks. “Reckon she saw anything?”
“No. You’re in the clear. For now. But we’re going to have to be very careful.”
MARLENA IS IN the plush chair with her legs crossed. When I first come in, she’s sitting forward, rubbing the arch of one foot. When she sees me, she stops and leans back.
“Jacob. Thank you for coming.”
“Certainly,” I say. I remove my hat, and hold it awkwardly to my chest.
“Please sit down.”
“Thank you,” I say, sitting on the edge of the nearest chair. I look around. “Where’s August?”
“He and Uncle Al are meeting with the railroad authority.”
“Oh,” I say. “Anything serious?”
“Just rumors. Someone reported that we were redlighting men. They’ll sort it out, I’m sure.”
“Rumors. Yes,” I say. I hold my hat in my lap, fingering its edge and waiting.
“So . . . um . . . I was worried about you,” she says.
“You were?”
“Are you all right?” she asks quietly.
“Yes. Of course,” I say. Then it dawns on me what she’s asking. “Oh God—no, it’s not what you think. The doctor wasn’t for me. I needed him to see a friend, and it wasn’t . . . it wasn’t for that.”
“Oh,” she says, with a nervous laugh. “I’m so glad. I’m sorry, Jacob. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I was just worried.”
“I’m fine. Really.”
“And your friend?”
I hold my breath for a moment. “Not so fine.”
“Will she be okay?”
“She?” I look up, caught off-guard.
Marlena looks down, twisting her fingers in her lap. “I just assumed it was Barbara.”
I cough, and then I choke.
“Oh, Jacob—oh, goodness. I’m making an awful mess of this. It’s none of my business. Really. Please forgive me.”
“No. I hardly know Barbara.” I blush so hard my scalp prickles.
“It’s all right. I know she’s a . . .” Marlena twists her fingers awkwardly and lets the sentence go unfinished. “Well, despite that, she’s not a bad sort. Quite decent, really, although you want to—”
“Marlena,” I say with enough force to stop her from talking. I clear my throat and continue. “I’m not involved with Barbara. I hardly know her. I don’t think we’ve exchanged more than a dozen words in our lives.”
“Oh,” she says. “It’s just Auggie said . . .”
We sit in excruciating silence for nearly half a minute.
“So, your feet are better then?” I ask.
“Yes, thank you.” Her hands are clasped so tightly her knuckles are white. She swallows and looks at her lap. “There was something else I wanted to talk to you about. What happened in the alley. In Chicago.”
“That was entirely my fault,” I say quickly. “I can’t imagine what came over me. Temporary insanity or something. I’m so very sorry. I can assure you it will never happen again.”
“Oh,” she says quietly.
I look up, startled. Unless I’m very much mistaken, I think I’ve just managed to offend her. “I’m not saying . . . It’s not that you’re not . . . I just . . .”
“Are you saying you didn’t want to kiss me?”
I drop my hat and raise my hands. “Marlena, please help me. I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“Because it would be easier if you didn’t.”
“If I didn’t what?”
“If you didn’t want to kiss me,” she says quietly.
My jaw moves, but it’s several seconds before anything comes out. “Marlena, what are you saying?”
“I . . . I’m not really sure,” she says. “I hardly know what to think anymore. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I know what I’m feeling is wrong, but I just . . . Well, I guess I just wondered . . .”
When I look up, her face is cherry red. She’s clasping and unclasping her hands, staring hard at her lap.
“Marlena,” I say, rising and taking a step forward.
“I think you should go now,” she says.
I stare at her for a few seconds.
“Please,” she says, without looking up.
And so I leave, although every bone in my body screams against it.
COURTESY OF THE PFENING ARCHIVES, COLUMBUS, OHIO