The Restless Grass.
“Please don’t marry for a while,” she said. From the look on his face it seemed to her he was likely to marry in the next day or two, bigamously, if he met anyone he could win.
“You mean until I get smarter?” Danny asked, grinning. His hair had gotten quite long.
Emma couldn’t stand it. Her mother was right. He ought to have been hers. She turned, feeling she had to go.
“Oh, Danny,” she said. “Nobody cares about that.”
2.
W HEN HE drove away she went in and removed all traces—she even emptied the wastebaskets. Then she felt such a deep relief at having been allowed to get away with it that she relaxed and dozed on her steps too long. The morning clouds had blown away and she got sunburned. She decided to say that his book had come in the mail. Flap was someone to whom—if he had caught her—she would have owed an explanation; since he hadn’t, she was not sure that she owed him anything. She and Danny had been caught, all right, but caught by one another: the absence of those feelings she could only feel with him was going to be the punishment that fit her crime.
The moment Danny left she stopped expecting Flap. If he hadn’t had instinct enough to come home and catch her sinning he was not likely to come home just to keep her company. The fish were probably biting. She put some cream on her sunburned cheeks and worked her way rapidly backward through the paper to the follow-up story on the man who had ground up his wife’s earrings. While she was reading it the phone rang.
“Well, I hope you’re in a better mood than you were in yesterday, dear,” her mother said.
“I don’t know if I am or not,” Emma said. “We’ll have to see how things develop. How are you?”
“Beset,” Aurora said. “Harassed as well. I’m summoning you and Thomas to dinner, pre-emptorily. I didn’t call this morning,because I allowed the General to take me to breakfast, which was a good deal more trouble than it was worth. I hope you aren’t feeling sluggish as a result.”
Emma remembered how strongly she had felt the phone about to ring while she had been trying to feel Danny.
“Sleeping late doesn’t make me feel sluggish,” she said.
“Well, having to watch that man eat eggs made me feel sluggish,” Aurora said. “I suppose he eats them in the correct military manner, I don’t know. The two of you will be here at seven, won’t you?”
“No,” Emma said.
“Oh, God,” Aurora said. “Don’t tell me you’re going to be difficult two days in a row. Why do you need to be difficult when I am harassed?”
“You’re jumping to conclusions, as usual,” Emma said. “I’ll be glad to be there at seven, but Flap happens to be gone.”
“He’s left you?” Aurora asked.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Emma said. “I don’t think he’d leave me without waiting to see how this child turns out. He’s off with his father, fishing. They have a new boat.”
“Oh, foolishness,” Aurora said. “It would have been less trouble for all of us if that boy had been born a fish. I’m growing more irritable by the minute.”
“Who’s your date?” Emma asked.
“Oh, Alberto,” Aurora said distractedly. “I consider that I owe him a dinner. He’s been plying me with concerts lately.”
“Good. I adore Alberto,” Emma said.
“Well, I won’t have you singing his praises. He sings them loudly enough, as you know. Incidentally, he has been forbidden to sing this evening, so don’t ask him. Also he has been forbidden to mention Genoa, so don’t you mention it either.”
“Keep him on a tight leash, don’t you?” Emma said. “Why can’t he mention Genoa?”
“Because he’s excessively boring on the subject,” Aurora said. “The mere fact that he was born there makes him think he has the right to describe every cobblestone in it. I have already heard him describe every cobblestone in it, and it’s quite unnecessary. I’ve been to Genoa and you
“Please don’t marry for a while,” she said. From the look on his face it seemed to her he was likely to marry in the next day or two, bigamously, if he met anyone he could win.
“You mean until I get smarter?” Danny asked, grinning. His hair had gotten quite long.
Emma couldn’t stand it. Her mother was right. He ought to have been hers. She turned, feeling she had to go.
“Oh, Danny,” she said. “Nobody cares about that.”
2.
W HEN HE drove away she went in and removed all traces—she even emptied the wastebaskets. Then she felt such a deep relief at having been allowed to get away with it that she relaxed and dozed on her steps too long. The morning clouds had blown away and she got sunburned. She decided to say that his book had come in the mail. Flap was someone to whom—if he had caught her—she would have owed an explanation; since he hadn’t, she was not sure that she owed him anything. She and Danny had been caught, all right, but caught by one another: the absence of those feelings she could only feel with him was going to be the punishment that fit her crime.
The moment Danny left she stopped expecting Flap. If he hadn’t had instinct enough to come home and catch her sinning he was not likely to come home just to keep her company. The fish were probably biting. She put some cream on her sunburned cheeks and worked her way rapidly backward through the paper to the follow-up story on the man who had ground up his wife’s earrings. While she was reading it the phone rang.
“Well, I hope you’re in a better mood than you were in yesterday, dear,” her mother said.
“I don’t know if I am or not,” Emma said. “We’ll have to see how things develop. How are you?”
“Beset,” Aurora said. “Harassed as well. I’m summoning you and Thomas to dinner, pre-emptorily. I didn’t call this morning,because I allowed the General to take me to breakfast, which was a good deal more trouble than it was worth. I hope you aren’t feeling sluggish as a result.”
Emma remembered how strongly she had felt the phone about to ring while she had been trying to feel Danny.
“Sleeping late doesn’t make me feel sluggish,” she said.
“Well, having to watch that man eat eggs made me feel sluggish,” Aurora said. “I suppose he eats them in the correct military manner, I don’t know. The two of you will be here at seven, won’t you?”
“No,” Emma said.
“Oh, God,” Aurora said. “Don’t tell me you’re going to be difficult two days in a row. Why do you need to be difficult when I am harassed?”
“You’re jumping to conclusions, as usual,” Emma said. “I’ll be glad to be there at seven, but Flap happens to be gone.”
“He’s left you?” Aurora asked.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Emma said. “I don’t think he’d leave me without waiting to see how this child turns out. He’s off with his father, fishing. They have a new boat.”
“Oh, foolishness,” Aurora said. “It would have been less trouble for all of us if that boy had been born a fish. I’m growing more irritable by the minute.”
“Who’s your date?” Emma asked.
“Oh, Alberto,” Aurora said distractedly. “I consider that I owe him a dinner. He’s been plying me with concerts lately.”
“Good. I adore Alberto,” Emma said.
“Well, I won’t have you singing his praises. He sings them loudly enough, as you know. Incidentally, he has been forbidden to sing this evening, so don’t ask him. Also he has been forbidden to mention Genoa, so don’t you mention it either.”
“Keep him on a tight leash, don’t you?” Emma said. “Why can’t he mention Genoa?”
“Because he’s excessively boring on the subject,” Aurora said. “The mere fact that he was born there makes him think he has the right to describe every cobblestone in it. I have already heard him describe every cobblestone in it, and it’s quite unnecessary. I’ve been to Genoa and you
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