「it’sonlytwobottles,」isaid.「areallyauspiciousoccasionwouldcallforadozen.」

「oh,isee,」shesaid,suddenlyangry.「i’mjusttobeafill-inuntilsomeonemorebeautifulandattractivecomesalong.thankyousoverymuch.nowyou’vehurtmyfeelings,butisupposeit’ssomethingtoknowthati’msafehere.ifyouthinkabottleofchampagnewillmakealoosewomanoutofme,icanassureyouthatyouareverymuchmistaken.」

「iadmittedthemistakealready.」

「thefactthatitoldyouiwasgoingtoporcemyhusbandandthatihadamosdropmebyherewithanovernightbagdoesn’tmakemeaseasyasallthat,」shesaid,stillangry.

「damntheovernightbag!」igrowled.「thehellwiththeovernightbag!mentionitagainandi’llthrowthedamnthingdownthefrontsteps.iaskedyoutohaveadrink.i’mgoingouttothekitchentogetthedrink.that’sall.ihadn’ttheleastideaofgettingyoudrunk.youdon’twanttogotobedwithme.iunderstandperfectly.noreasonwhyyoushould.butwecanstillhaveaglassortwoofchampagne,can’twe?thisdoesn’thavetobeawrangleaboutwhoisgoingtogetseducedandwhenandwhereandonhowmuchchampagne.」

「youdon’thavetoloseyourtemper,」shesaid,flushing.

「that’sjustanothergambit,」isnarled.「iknowfiftyofthemandihatethemall.they’reallphonyandtheyallhaveasortofleerattheedges.」

shegotupandcameoverclosetomeandranthetipsofherfingersgentlyoverthecutsandswollenplacesonmyface.「i’msorry.i’matiredanddisappointedwoman.pleasebekindtome.i’mnobargaintoanyone.」

「you’renottiredandyou’renomoredisappointedthanmostpeopleare.byalltherulesyououghttobethesamesortofshallowspoiledpromiscuousbratyoursisterwas.bysomemiracleyou’renot.you’vegotallthehonestyandalargepartofthegutsinyourfamily.youdon’tneedanyonetobekindtoyou.」

iturnedandwalkedoutoftheroomdownthehalltothekitchenandgotoneofthebottlesofchampagneoutoftheiceboxandpoppedthecorkandfilledacoupleofshallowgobletsquicklyanddrankonedown.thestingofitbroughttearstomyeyes,butiemptiedtheglass.ifilleditagain.theniputthewholeworksonatrayandcarteditintothelivingroom.

shewasn’tthere.theovernightbagwasn’tthere.iputthetraydownandopenedthefrontdoor.ihadn’theardanysoundofitsopeningandshehadnocar.ihadn’theardanysoundatall.

thenshespokefrombehindme.「idiot,didyouthinkiwasgoingtorunaway?」

ishutthedoorandturned.shehadloosenedherhairandshehadtuftedslippersonherbarefeetandasilkrobethecolorofasunsetinajapaneseprint.shecametowardsmeslowlywithasortofunexpectedlyshysmile.iheldaglassouttoher.shetookit,tookacoupleofsipsofthechampagne,andhandeditback.

「it’sverynice,」shesaid.thenveryquietlyandwithoutatraceofactingoraffectationshecameintomyarmsandpressedhermouthagainstmineandopenedherlipsandherteeth.thetipofhertonguetouchedmine.afteralongtimeshepulledherheadbackbutkeptherarmsaroundmyneck.shewasstarry-eyed.

「imeanttoallthetime,」shesaid.「ijusthadtobedifficult.idon’tknowwhy.justnervesperhaps.i’mnotreallyaloosewomanatall.isthatapity?」

「ifihadthoughtyouwerei’dhavemadeapassatyouthefirsttimeimetyouinthebaratvictor’s.」

sheshookherheadslowlyandsmiled.「idon’tthinkso.that’swhyiamhere.」

「perhapsnotthatnight,」isaid.「thatnightbelongedtosomethingelse.」

「perhapsyoudon’tevermakepassesatwomeninbars.」

「notoften.thelight’stoodim.」

「butalotofwomengotobarsjusttohavepassesmadeatthem.」

「alotofwomengetupinthemorningwiththesameidea.」

「butliquorisanaphrodisiac—uptoapoint.」

「doctorsrecommendit.」

「whosaidanythingaboutdoctors?iwantmychampagne.」

ikissedhersomemore.itwaslight,pleasantwork.

「iwanttokissyourpoorcheek,」shesaid,anddid.「it’sburninghot,」shesaid.

「therestofmeisfreezing.」

「itisnot.iwantmychampagne.」

「why?」

「it’llgetflatifwedon’tdrinkit.besidesilikethetasteofit.」

「allright.」

「doyoulovemeverymuch?orwillyouifigotobedwithyou?」

「possibly.」

「youdon’thavetogotobedwithme,youknow.idon’tabsolutelyinsistonit.」

「thankyou.」

「iwantmychampagne.」

「howmuchmoneyhaveyougot?」

「altogether?howwouldiknow?abouteightmilliondollars.」

「i’vedecidedtogotobedwithyou.」

「mercenary,」shesaid.

「ipaidforthechampagne.」

「thehellwiththechampagne,」shesaid.