adolescent fantasies.”
She looked
confused. “Fantasies? I don’t know what you mean.”
He sighed.
“Come on, Lorie, every young girl does it. She” goes out with a man for the
first time, and she’s worried that she’s not sophisticated enough, or
mysterious enough. So she uses her imagination. A hint of mystique here, a
touch of melodrama there. When I was fifteen I dated a girl of thirteen who
told me her father was once a famous concert pianist According to her, he had
burned his hands beyond recovery by rescuing her from a fire. It turned out the
poor stiff worked in a bakery, and his only musical talent was whistling ‘After
the Ball Is Over.’“
Lorie listened
to this, and sat there silently for a long time. “Gene,” she said, “don’t you
think we’d better make this the first and last date?”
“You’ve decided
you don’t like me, huh? Is that it?”
“No, that’s not
it.”
“Then you do
like me?”
“Yes. And
that’s the trouble.”
Gene reached
out again and stroked her cheek. She looked desperately sad, and he wished to
God he knew why. She held his hand in hers, and pressed it against her lips,
kissing it gently.
“The truth is,
Gene, that I love you, too.”
He couldn’t
quite believe what he’d heard. “Are you kidding me? By Christ, Lorie, I hope
you’re not kidding me.”
“It’s true,”
she said, in a throaty voice. “I think they call it love at first sight.”
He gave her a
small, wry smile. “More like love at first bite, if you ask me.”
She lifted her
head. Her eyes were brimming with tears she didn’t want to cry, and she
couldn’t help sniffing.
“I loved you
the first time I saw you,” she said. “I know I haven’t dated any other men, and
that I don’t have any experience. Maybe I’m childish when it comes to love. But
that’s just the way I am, and you’re going to have to accept it, I love you,
Gene, and that’s all I can say. I love you more than anything.”
“Lorie,” he
whispered. He held her close, and he kissed her. “Lorie why the hell didn’t you
say...
?”
She started
weeping openly now. “I couldn’t say because it can’t last. It can’t happen. I
can’t allow it to happen. If I fall in love with you, then it’s all going to
start all over again, and I couldn’t stand it.”
He took a
handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at her tears. “You’re still talking
mysteries,” he told her. “What can’t you allow to happen? What’s going to-
start all over again?”
She blew her
nose. “I can’t tell you,” she said. “Not now, nor ever.”
He took another
cigarette out of the box and lit ft. He took a long deep drag to steady his
nerves. “Not ever? Not even if we got married?”
She stared at
him, her face pale and her eyes blotted With tears.
“Please, Gene,”
she said. “You swore you’d never ask. You swore.”
He tried to
manage a smile, but it came out unsteady and lopsided. “I’m a politician,
remember?
Politicians
have divine dispensation to break promises.”
He tried to
call her again and again on Monday, but the phone rang hollow and distant and
nobody answered. An unhelpful receptionist at the Franco-African Bank said that
Lorie Semple hadn’t arrived for work and he didn’t have the time to go there
and check for himself. Henry Ness wanted a detailed profile of political
structures on three Caribbean islands, and he spent an irritating morning
collecting data and statistics on banana production and sugar shipping.
He had taken
Lorie home on Saturday night, late, and they had kissed, but the date had ended
inconclusively, and he wasn’t even sure if he was ever going to see her again.
She refused to talk about marriage and she refused to discuss love, and she
couldn’t say when she might have another free evening. In the end, he had
driven off with a furiously suppressed temper and hadn’t simmered down until he
got home and finished the left over jug of
She looked
confused. “Fantasies? I don’t know what you mean.”
He sighed.
“Come on, Lorie, every young girl does it. She” goes out with a man for the
first time, and she’s worried that she’s not sophisticated enough, or
mysterious enough. So she uses her imagination. A hint of mystique here, a
touch of melodrama there. When I was fifteen I dated a girl of thirteen who
told me her father was once a famous concert pianist According to her, he had
burned his hands beyond recovery by rescuing her from a fire. It turned out the
poor stiff worked in a bakery, and his only musical talent was whistling ‘After
the Ball Is Over.’“
Lorie listened
to this, and sat there silently for a long time. “Gene,” she said, “don’t you
think we’d better make this the first and last date?”
“You’ve decided
you don’t like me, huh? Is that it?”
“No, that’s not
it.”
“Then you do
like me?”
“Yes. And
that’s the trouble.”
Gene reached
out again and stroked her cheek. She looked desperately sad, and he wished to
God he knew why. She held his hand in hers, and pressed it against her lips,
kissing it gently.
“The truth is,
Gene, that I love you, too.”
He couldn’t
quite believe what he’d heard. “Are you kidding me? By Christ, Lorie, I hope
you’re not kidding me.”
“It’s true,”
she said, in a throaty voice. “I think they call it love at first sight.”
He gave her a
small, wry smile. “More like love at first bite, if you ask me.”
She lifted her
head. Her eyes were brimming with tears she didn’t want to cry, and she
couldn’t help sniffing.
“I loved you
the first time I saw you,” she said. “I know I haven’t dated any other men, and
that I don’t have any experience. Maybe I’m childish when it comes to love. But
that’s just the way I am, and you’re going to have to accept it, I love you,
Gene, and that’s all I can say. I love you more than anything.”
“Lorie,” he
whispered. He held her close, and he kissed her. “Lorie why the hell didn’t you
say...
?”
She started
weeping openly now. “I couldn’t say because it can’t last. It can’t happen. I
can’t allow it to happen. If I fall in love with you, then it’s all going to
start all over again, and I couldn’t stand it.”
He took a
handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at her tears. “You’re still talking
mysteries,” he told her. “What can’t you allow to happen? What’s going to-
start all over again?”
She blew her
nose. “I can’t tell you,” she said. “Not now, nor ever.”
He took another
cigarette out of the box and lit ft. He took a long deep drag to steady his
nerves. “Not ever? Not even if we got married?”
She stared at
him, her face pale and her eyes blotted With tears.
“Please, Gene,”
she said. “You swore you’d never ask. You swore.”
He tried to
manage a smile, but it came out unsteady and lopsided. “I’m a politician,
remember?
Politicians
have divine dispensation to break promises.”
He tried to
call her again and again on Monday, but the phone rang hollow and distant and
nobody answered. An unhelpful receptionist at the Franco-African Bank said that
Lorie Semple hadn’t arrived for work and he didn’t have the time to go there
and check for himself. Henry Ness wanted a detailed profile of political
structures on three Caribbean islands, and he spent an irritating morning
collecting data and statistics on banana production and sugar shipping.
He had taken
Lorie home on Saturday night, late, and they had kissed, but the date had ended
inconclusively, and he wasn’t even sure if he was ever going to see her again.
She refused to talk about marriage and she refused to discuss love, and she
couldn’t say when she might have another free evening. In the end, he had
driven off with a furiously suppressed temper and hadn’t simmered down until he
got home and finished the left over jug of
Similar Books
