floor swooped out from
under her chair. Something hitched in her chest as she looked right into the
eyes of a strange man whose beard obscured most of his face. The feeling in her
breast was almost a physical pain and she turned with difficulty to Grant,
forcing a laugh at something he’d said, something she had failed to hear.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked,
annoyed. “I asked you twice if you wanted more coffee, and all you can do is
laugh at me?”
“Sorry, Grant... Sorry. I was thinking
of some... thing else.” Now why in the world had she almost said ‘someone’?
“No. No more coffee, thanks. I have to get Philip home to bed. School tomorrow,
and I have a hour’s drive ahead of me.”
“Let’s bed him down here,” Grant said,
quietly but urgently. “We can put him in my spare room and come back down and
dance for a while. I have a new disk-jockey. We can send the kid off to school
from here tomorrow.”
With a quick glance at her son who was
smiling giddily out into the sea of diners, oblivious to the conversation of
his elders, she said quietly, “And do you have a spare room for me, Grant? I
know you have a two-bedroom suite, but apart from that, didn’t you tell me not
half an hour ago, you have a full house in the hotel tonight?”
Grant slowly raked her with a smoldering
gaze from her hair to her breasts, to her narrow waist as she stood. “Ellie,”
he said, reaching for her arm across the table, his firm fingers wrapping
tightly around her wrist, “you know where I want you to sleep. Stay with me
tonight. You know very well I had no intention of your sleeping anywhere but in
my bed, so why be coy about it?” His fingers moved higher on her arm as he,
too, stood, tightening, gripping her now just below her shoulder.
She jerked herself out of his clasp.
“Grant, how many times do we have to go through this?” she hissed “You
know my answer in advance, so why ask?”
His eyes narrowed and his round face took
on an ugly expression. “Ah, hell, you’re probably frigid anyway!” he snarled.
“I guess you’ll never know, will you?”
Eleanor said sharply. “Let’s go, Philip. Say goodnight and thank you to Grant.”
He did, then she took him by the hand and
marched out, head held high. She said neither goodnight nor thank you.
Eleanor hustled Philip across the
parking lot, her heels ringing angrily on the pavement. As she neared her car,
she saw the broad shoulders of the bearded man whose glance she had intercepted
in the dining room. She noticed with detachment that he had a limp and wondered
briefly where he was from. He unlocked the door of a dirty, dented pick-up
truck with a camper on the back. The truck looked as if it had been given some
hard use on bad roads, although the camper looked pretty new.
He hitched himself onto the seat, slid
back a bit then paused in the act of using both hands to lift his game inside.
As Philip’s clear piping words rang out, “Mom, what’s ‘frigid’ mean? Why’d
Grant call you that?” the man turned to face them, his teeth flashing white in
a grin.
“Not now, Philip,” Eleanor snapped
impatiently. “I’m too tired to explain, and besides, you shouldn’t listen to
conversations that don’t concern you.” She bundled Philip onto the back seat of
the, car strapped him in and drove away from the hotel, noticing the lights of
the pickup following her as she made for home. He stayed with her until she
turned off the main road then he continued on toward the Exley place. Maybe
he’s a friend of theirs, she thought idly, turning out her headlights and
shutting off the engine. It crackled and popped loudly in the still night as it
cooled and Eleanor hauled her sleepy son out of the car, her mind still
unnaturally occupied with the bearded stranger. She couldn’t for the life of
her have said why his presence bothered her, except there were no campgrounds
out that way and if he’d been staying with Ralph and JoAnn Exley,
under her chair. Something hitched in her chest as she looked right into the
eyes of a strange man whose beard obscured most of his face. The feeling in her
breast was almost a physical pain and she turned with difficulty to Grant,
forcing a laugh at something he’d said, something she had failed to hear.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked,
annoyed. “I asked you twice if you wanted more coffee, and all you can do is
laugh at me?”
“Sorry, Grant... Sorry. I was thinking
of some... thing else.” Now why in the world had she almost said ‘someone’?
“No. No more coffee, thanks. I have to get Philip home to bed. School tomorrow,
and I have a hour’s drive ahead of me.”
“Let’s bed him down here,” Grant said,
quietly but urgently. “We can put him in my spare room and come back down and
dance for a while. I have a new disk-jockey. We can send the kid off to school
from here tomorrow.”
With a quick glance at her son who was
smiling giddily out into the sea of diners, oblivious to the conversation of
his elders, she said quietly, “And do you have a spare room for me, Grant? I
know you have a two-bedroom suite, but apart from that, didn’t you tell me not
half an hour ago, you have a full house in the hotel tonight?”
Grant slowly raked her with a smoldering
gaze from her hair to her breasts, to her narrow waist as she stood. “Ellie,”
he said, reaching for her arm across the table, his firm fingers wrapping
tightly around her wrist, “you know where I want you to sleep. Stay with me
tonight. You know very well I had no intention of your sleeping anywhere but in
my bed, so why be coy about it?” His fingers moved higher on her arm as he,
too, stood, tightening, gripping her now just below her shoulder.
She jerked herself out of his clasp.
“Grant, how many times do we have to go through this?” she hissed “You
know my answer in advance, so why ask?”
His eyes narrowed and his round face took
on an ugly expression. “Ah, hell, you’re probably frigid anyway!” he snarled.
“I guess you’ll never know, will you?”
Eleanor said sharply. “Let’s go, Philip. Say goodnight and thank you to Grant.”
He did, then she took him by the hand and
marched out, head held high. She said neither goodnight nor thank you.
Eleanor hustled Philip across the
parking lot, her heels ringing angrily on the pavement. As she neared her car,
she saw the broad shoulders of the bearded man whose glance she had intercepted
in the dining room. She noticed with detachment that he had a limp and wondered
briefly where he was from. He unlocked the door of a dirty, dented pick-up
truck with a camper on the back. The truck looked as if it had been given some
hard use on bad roads, although the camper looked pretty new.
He hitched himself onto the seat, slid
back a bit then paused in the act of using both hands to lift his game inside.
As Philip’s clear piping words rang out, “Mom, what’s ‘frigid’ mean? Why’d
Grant call you that?” the man turned to face them, his teeth flashing white in
a grin.
“Not now, Philip,” Eleanor snapped
impatiently. “I’m too tired to explain, and besides, you shouldn’t listen to
conversations that don’t concern you.” She bundled Philip onto the back seat of
the, car strapped him in and drove away from the hotel, noticing the lights of
the pickup following her as she made for home. He stayed with her until she
turned off the main road then he continued on toward the Exley place. Maybe
he’s a friend of theirs, she thought idly, turning out her headlights and
shutting off the engine. It crackled and popped loudly in the still night as it
cooled and Eleanor hauled her sleepy son out of the car, her mind still
unnaturally occupied with the bearded stranger. She couldn’t for the life of
her have said why his presence bothered her, except there were no campgrounds
out that way and if he’d been staying with Ralph and JoAnn Exley,