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Then he lifted his face back up and nodded again. “Well,” he said again, removing his hand from her shoulder.
    Mrs. Robinson returned to the writing table and looked down at her hat. “Benjamin?”
    “Yes?”
    “I’ll get undressed now,” she said, running one of her fingers around the edge of the hat. “Is that all right?”
    “Sure,” Benjamin said. “Fine. Do you—do you—”
    “What?”
    “I mean do you want me to just stand here?” he said. “I don’t—I don’t know what you want me to do.”
    “Why don’t you watch,” she said.
    “Oh. Sure. Thank you.”
    He watched her unbutton the three buttons on the front of her suit, then reach up to unbutton the top button on her blouse. She smiled at him as she moved her hand slowly down the front of her blouse, then leaned for support on the writing table and reached down to remove her shoes.
    “Will you bring me a hanger?” she said.
    “What?”
    She straightened up and frowned at him. “Benjamin, if you want another drink we’ll go down and have one.”
    “Oh no,” Benjamin said. “A hanger. I’ll get a hanger.” He hurried to the closet and opened its door. “A wood one?” he said.
    “What?”
    “Do you want a wood one?”
    “A wood one would be fine,” she said.
    “Right,” Benjamin said. He reached into the closet for a wooden hanger and carried it across the room to her.

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    “Thank you,” she said, taking it.
    “You’re welcome,” Benjamin said. He walked back to the door. He slid his hands into his pockets and watched her as she removed the jacket of her suit, then the blouse she was wearing and hung them on the hanger.
    Suddenly Benjamin began shaking his head. He pulled his hands up out of his pockets and opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again. “Mrs. Robin—?”
    “What?”
    “Nothing.”
    She frowned at him.
    “Nothing,” Benjamin said. “Nothing. Do you need another hanger.”
    “No,” she said. She looked at him a moment longer, then pushed her skirt down around her legs, stepped out of it and folded it. “Would it be easier for you in the dark?” she said, draping the skirt through the hanger and over the wooden bar.
    “No.”
    “You’re sure.”
    “I’m sure. Yes.”
    “Hang this up please?” she said. Benjamin walked across the room to take the hanger from her and carried it to the closet. When he had hung it up and turned around she had let a half-slip she was wearing drop to the floor and was stepping out of it. She slid a girdle and the stockings fastened to it down around her legs and onto the floor. “Will you undo my bra?” she said, turning around.
    “Your—your—”
    “Will you?”
    Benjamin looked at her a moment longer, then suddenly began shaking his head. He rushed to one of the walls of the room. “No!” he said.
    “What?”
    “Mrs. Robinson! Please! I can’t!”
    “What?”
    “I cannot do this!”

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    68
    Mrs. Robinson watched him for a moment, then turned and walked slowly to the bed. She seated herself and moved back to sit with her back against the board at the head of the bed. She crossed her legs in front of her and reached behind her back to unhook the bra. “You don’t want to do it,” she said.
    “I want to but I can’t!” he said to the wall. “Now I’m just—I’m sorry I called you up but I—”
    “Benjamin?”
    “I mean don’t you see?” he said, turning around. “Don’t you see that this is the worst thing I could possible do? The very worst thing in the world?”
    “Is it?”
    He shook his head. “Now I feel awful about this,” he said. “About having you come up here like this. But I—I just—Mrs. Robinson, I like being with you. It’s not that. I mean maybe we—maybe we could do something else together. Could we—could we go to a movie? Can I take you to a movie?”
    She frowned at him. “Are you trying to be funny?” she said.
    “No! No! But I don’t know what to say! Because