Chapter 8

Janet didn’t say anything at first. She kept the secret.

May, who understood her sister perfectly, didn’t ask any questions.

Leonard, who understood the situation and Jenny perfectly, also didn’t ask any questions, but he didn’t feel so good.

In fact, he felt damn lousy, being caught in the middle.

He felt something like a golden ring being grabbed at by the kids on the merry-go-round. Janet started to put her clothes on.

May said, “Why are you doing that, dear?”

“Enough is enough,” Janet said. “I have other things to do.”

She sounded slightly miffed. Leonard knew why, but May looked at her sister curiously.

Leonard decided to jump the gun.

“That was Jenny on the phone, wasn’t it?” he said.

Janet nodded.

May said, “So what?”

Leonard said, “Jenny has a grudge against me right now, don’t you understand?”

Janet said, “Well?”

She was challenging him to deny all the accusations that Jenny had made.

“The fact is,” Leonard said to both girls, “I really did come here to say good-bye to you, but you see, I didn’t and I don’t think I can.” May laughed. “Why should you even want to?”

Leonard shrugged. “I thought I was in love for good.”

Janet said, “That’s what Jenny told me.”

“Well,” he shrugged, “can’t we just forget it? I made a mistake.”

“Are you?”

“You know, I’m really damned angry with her, causing me all this grief. She didn’t have to phone you. She could have let me go my own way.”

“She cares for you,” said Janet.

“I don’t think so, it sounds pretty damn selfish,” May put in.

Leonard said, “I agree with May.”

“Okay,” Janet said, “do what you want.” But she had lost the cuddly, cozy attitude that she always felt from him.

Yes, Jenny had caused a definite rift.

“Don’t be angry,” May said, stroking his leg, “please, you’re going to ruin the day for us all.”

“I don’t think I’m going to hang around,” Leonard said, “things look pretty sour, and there is nothing I can do about them,” May said.

“Oh yes, there is.”

Janet said, “Let him go.”

She sounded so uptight that Leonard suspected that Jenny had told her something else, also. He wondered what it was, but he didn’t dare ask her. She wouldn’t necessarily tell him, either.

May was still on his side, though, maybe he could use her as an ally against Jenny.

Janet said, “Come on, Leonard, put your clothes on. I think it’s time for you to go. Don’t you?”

The words were a definite insult. Leonard felt that he was being kicked out of a place.

“If he gets dressed and goes,” May said, “I’m going with him. For sure.”

Janet said, “Don’t be a jerk.”

He was about to see the twins fight, which was new to him, and he didn’t want to witness it, didn’t want it to happen.

“Girls, girls,” he said, “have a heart. You’re going to ruin everything, and I couldn’t bear it.”

He decided he’d rather leave than witness a fight. He got dressed quickly and walked out, letting the girls hack it out between themselves and with Jenny too, if they insisted.

He looked at his watch. It was getting on into the afternoon. He remembered Betty. The thoughts were strange and almost alien. He wondered how long ago he’d seen her. It felt like a year.

He went home to take a shower and change so he would look normal, rather than like he’d been through a fucking machine, which was exactly how he felt.

At five o’clock, he went to her apartment to pick her up.

He rang the bell, waited, and got no answer.

He rang again and again.

Still no answer.

He was puzzled that she shouldn’t be home when he was expecting him.

He went up to the corner and stepped into a phone booth and dialed her number.

The phone rang and rang. She really wasn’t there.

He walked back to the building and saw someone going inside.

He went along and slipped in with them, up to her apartment, deciding to leave a note at the door.

When he reached it, he heard strange sounds inside.

She was there.

It was true.

But she wasn’t alone.

He realized what was going on and that she had a guy in there, that she couldn’t get rid of.

He rang the buzzer now and pounded on the door.

Some man’s voice called, “Get the hell away.”

Instantly Leonard realized that Betty had told this ex-lover of hers what was going on, but the guy wouldn’t believe her.

“Damn prick,” Leonard called, “open this fucking door.”

He heard uncontrollable sobbing and knew that Betty was inside being miserable.

He wondered if she had gotten beaten up.

He felt furious, like he could tear the door down with his bare hands.

He banged the buzzer some more and kicked at the door, and kept kicking at it until it opened.

The guy standing there didn’t look frightening, not to him, but he realized that he was a formidable threat to Betty.

Where was she?

He looked back at the bruiser’s shoulders. No sign of her. He didn’t say a word to the guy, just grabbed him by his shirt collar and yanked him out into the hall. Then he slammed the door shut between them and locked it securely.

Now it was the other guy’s turn to bang on the buzzer and kick wildly.

But Leonard wasn’t going to open it for him, not now or ever.

He walked through the apartment calling for Betty. And then he came back again and found her standing in a shadowed corner of the hall he had passed her in his fury.

He came to her and pulled her quickly into his arms. Her body was hot and shivering. She was trying to stop the sobs, but unsuccessfully. Frightened to death, he thought.

“Okay, okay,” he said, “it’s all over now.

You’re safe.”

She knew it, of course, but she couldn’t believe it or pull herself together so soon.

He realized that he had to let her sob and cry it out until her system was ready to relax.

He drew her into the small living room and sat down with her on the two-seater that converted into a bed.

He sat down with his arm around her shoulder and cuddled her close, holding her and protecting her so that she settled down gradually against him.

He looked around the room for signs of violence. Maybe that guy had given her a really rough time, and she was crying for other reasons than mere fright.

But he didn’t see anything knocked over or out of place, and he wasn’t going to question Betty now while she was still so miserable.

The best thing he could do for her would be to help her forget the incident and remind her that she was really secure with him.

He intended to protect her.

“It’s all over,” he said, “don’t you see?”

“Oh, Leonard, darling, what a mess.”

She was trying to smile through the tears.

“Well, isn’t the mess finished?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s going on and on.”

“But I got rid of him?”

Her smile became stronger with appreciation for his efforts.