「neverdid,」hesaidcarefully,speakingveryslowly.「who’she?」

thenexttimeilookedinonhimhewasasleep,withhismouthopen,hishairdampwithsweat,andreekingofscotch.hislipswerepulledbackfromhisteethinaloosegrimaceandthefurredsurfaceofhistonguelookeddry.

oneofthewhiskeybottleswasempty.aglassonthetablehadabouttwoinchesinitandtheotherbottlewasaboutthreequartersfull.iputtheemptyontheteawagonandrolleditoutoftheroom,thenwentbacktoclosethefrenchwindowsandturntheslatsoftheblinds.thespeedboatmightcomebackandwakehim.ishutthestudydoor.

iwheeledtheteawagonouttothekitchen,whichwasblueandwhiteandlargeandairyandempty.iwasstillhungry.iateanothersandwichanddrankwhatwasleftofthebeer,thenpouredacupofcoffeeanddrankthat.thebeerwasflatbutthecoffeewasstillhot.theniwentbacktothepatio.itwasquitealongtimebeforethespeedboatcametearingdownthelakeagain.itwasalmostfouro’clockwhenihearditsdistantroarswellintoanear-splittinghowlofnoise.thereoughttobealaw.probablywasandtheguyinthespeedboatdidn’tgiveadamn.heenjoyedmakinganuisanceofhimself,likeotherpeopleiwasmeeting.iwalkeddowntotheedgeofthelake.

hemadeitthistime.thedriverslowedjustenoughontheturnandthebrownladonthesurfboardleanedfaroutagainstthecentrifugalpull.thesurfboardwasalmostoutofthewater,butoneedgestayedinandthenthespeedboatstraightenedoutandthesurfboardstillhadariderandtheywentbackthewaytheyhadcomeandthatwasthat.thewavesstirredupbytheboatcamechargingintowardstheshoreofthelakeatmyfeet.theyslappedhardagainstthepilesoftheshortlandingandjumpedthetiedboatupanddown.theywerestillslappingitaroundwheniturnedbacktothehouse.

asireachedthepatioiheardabellchimingfromthedirectionofthekitchen.whenitsoundedagainidecidedthatonlythefrontdoorwouldhavechimes.icrossedtoitandopenedit.

eileenwadewasstandingtherelookingawayfromthehouse.assheturnedshesaid:「i’msorry,iforgotmykey.」thenshesawme.「oh—ithoughtitwasrogerorcandy.」

「candyisn’there.it’sthursday.」

shecameinandishutthedoor.sheputabagdownonthetablebetweenthetwodavenports.shelookedcoolandalsodistant.shepulledoffapairofwhitepigskingloves.

「isanythingwrong?」

「well,there’salittledrinkingbeingdone.notbad.he’sasleeponthecouchinhisstudy.」

「hecalledyou?」

「yes,butnotforthat.heaskedmetolunch.i’mafraidhedidn’thaveanyhimself.」

「oh.」shesatdownslowlyonadavenport.「youknow,icompletelyforgotitwasthursday.thecook’sawaytoo.howstupid.」

「candygotthelunchbeforeheleft.iguessi’llblownow.ihopemycarwasn’tinyourway.」

shesmiled.「no.therewasplentyofroom.won’tyouhavesometea?i’mgoingtohavesome.」

「allright.」ididn’tknowwhyisaidthat.ididn’twantanytea.ijustsaidit.

sheslippedoffalinenjacket.shehadn’twornahat.「i’lljustlookinandseeifrogerisallright.」

iwatchedhercrosstothestudydoorandopenit.shestoodthereamomentandclosedthedoorandcameback.

「he’sstillasleep.verysoundly.ihavetogoupstairsforamoment.i’llberightdown.」

iwatchedherpickupherjacketandglovesandbagandgoupthestairsandintoherroom.thedoorclosed.icrossedtothestudywiththeideaofremovingthebottleofhooch.ifhewasstillasleep,hewouldn’tneedit.