Read Online Weep for Me by John D. MacDonald - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John D. MacDonald
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stalls, pass-throughs from kitchen to dining nook, kitchens complete with garbage disposals and dishwashers.
We found ourselves alone in one, the bare rooms echoing to our footsteps.
“Kyle, I love this one!” she said. She trotted around opening closets and shutting them again, looking in cupboards. “Hey! Look! Magnetic things on the cupboards to keep them shut. And did you see the size of that shower?”
We went into the bedroom, the bigger one. “This will be ours, Kyle. With the children’s room across the hall.”
“Sure,” I said.
“Don’t you just
love
it?”
“Certainly is attractive.”
“Gee, you sound kind of flat about it, darling.” She took my arm. “We’ve always dreamed of a place like this. Remember all the times we’ve talked? Of course, it’s just for a few years. We’ll have to have a house of our own eventually.”
“Yeah. I guess we will.”
“Shall we tell Mr. Anderson all right? The only deposit they want is two months’ rent. And we’ll be in that second unit over there, the one they’re still working on. Come here and you can see it from this window, darling. We can have the same floor plan as this, with the same big windows and all. And see, there’s where they’re putting up the swings and teeter-totters. There’s even going to be a sort of nursery-school thing where you can leave little children while you go shopping or anything. We’ll be happy here, Kyle. So terribly, terribly happy.”
She spun around and faced me, her face pink and glowing. “Let’s go give Mr. Anderson the money. I withdrew it from our account and had a check made out.”
I looked at my knuckles. “Maybe we could look around some more.”
“Why? Gosh, it’s perfect! There
couldn’t
be anything better. And if we don’t decide today, it will be too late. Mr. Anderson told me that he could hold it for us for August first if we let him know today. They’re going like hot cakes. And mostly all young people, Kyle. I think …”
“Is there any law against looking around some more?” I asked her.
She took hold of my arms. Her face crumpled like a child’s. Her eyes filled with tears. “Kyle, do you want to marry me?”
I delayed a fatal fraction of a second too long. “Of course!”
She stamped her foot. “You don’t, you don’t!”
Another couple wandered in, stopped, backed hurriedly out. “What gives you that strange idea?”
“You don’t. And it’s that girl. I know it is. Oh, don’t look so injured. Peggy Reese told me about her, and enjoyed telling it, too. It’s all over the bank, she says, that you waited for her after work and now she has an apartment right in the same building with you. She might just as well have moved in with you. And Peggy says she’s cheap. Peggy says she looks hard.”
“Shut up!”
“Now you want to defend her. You don’t want to hear the truth about her, do you? You’d rather carry on some cheap, cheap, cheap …” Her voice broke completely and she went into the bathroom and closed the door.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked blindly out the window. After a long time she came out.
“Let’s go,” she said.
“How about the deposit?”
She looked around the room as though saying good-by to something dear. “I don’t think I’d like to live here now. Maybe we can find another place.”
“I thought there wasn’t any other place like this.”
She left me standing there. I followed her out. There was a long wait for a bus. She’d made the crazy accusations. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of tryingto explain anything. The next step was up to her. We got off downtown and she turned, quite calmly. “I have some shopping to do, Kyle.”
“In other words, run along.”
Her mouth tightened. “If that’s the way it sounded.”
“That’s exactly how it sounded. Shall I come over tomorrow?”
“You’re under no obligation, you know.” I had never realized her blue eyes could be so
We found ourselves alone in one, the bare rooms echoing to our footsteps.
“Kyle, I love this one!” she said. She trotted around opening closets and shutting them again, looking in cupboards. “Hey! Look! Magnetic things on the cupboards to keep them shut. And did you see the size of that shower?”
We went into the bedroom, the bigger one. “This will be ours, Kyle. With the children’s room across the hall.”
“Sure,” I said.
“Don’t you just
love
it?”
“Certainly is attractive.”
“Gee, you sound kind of flat about it, darling.” She took my arm. “We’ve always dreamed of a place like this. Remember all the times we’ve talked? Of course, it’s just for a few years. We’ll have to have a house of our own eventually.”
“Yeah. I guess we will.”
“Shall we tell Mr. Anderson all right? The only deposit they want is two months’ rent. And we’ll be in that second unit over there, the one they’re still working on. Come here and you can see it from this window, darling. We can have the same floor plan as this, with the same big windows and all. And see, there’s where they’re putting up the swings and teeter-totters. There’s even going to be a sort of nursery-school thing where you can leave little children while you go shopping or anything. We’ll be happy here, Kyle. So terribly, terribly happy.”
She spun around and faced me, her face pink and glowing. “Let’s go give Mr. Anderson the money. I withdrew it from our account and had a check made out.”
I looked at my knuckles. “Maybe we could look around some more.”
“Why? Gosh, it’s perfect! There
couldn’t
be anything better. And if we don’t decide today, it will be too late. Mr. Anderson told me that he could hold it for us for August first if we let him know today. They’re going like hot cakes. And mostly all young people, Kyle. I think …”
“Is there any law against looking around some more?” I asked her.
She took hold of my arms. Her face crumpled like a child’s. Her eyes filled with tears. “Kyle, do you want to marry me?”
I delayed a fatal fraction of a second too long. “Of course!”
She stamped her foot. “You don’t, you don’t!”
Another couple wandered in, stopped, backed hurriedly out. “What gives you that strange idea?”
“You don’t. And it’s that girl. I know it is. Oh, don’t look so injured. Peggy Reese told me about her, and enjoyed telling it, too. It’s all over the bank, she says, that you waited for her after work and now she has an apartment right in the same building with you. She might just as well have moved in with you. And Peggy says she’s cheap. Peggy says she looks hard.”
“Shut up!”
“Now you want to defend her. You don’t want to hear the truth about her, do you? You’d rather carry on some cheap, cheap, cheap …” Her voice broke completely and she went into the bathroom and closed the door.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked blindly out the window. After a long time she came out.
“Let’s go,” she said.
“How about the deposit?”
She looked around the room as though saying good-by to something dear. “I don’t think I’d like to live here now. Maybe we can find another place.”
“I thought there wasn’t any other place like this.”
She left me standing there. I followed her out. There was a long wait for a bus. She’d made the crazy accusations. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of tryingto explain anything. The next step was up to her. We got off downtown and she turned, quite calmly. “I have some shopping to do, Kyle.”
“In other words, run along.”
Her mouth tightened. “If that’s the way it sounded.”
“That’s exactly how it sounded. Shall I come over tomorrow?”
“You’re under no obligation, you know.” I had never realized her blue eyes could be so
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