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"I CAN’T STAND HIM," Anne told ht "He’s loathsoe of a nervous breakdown"

I pulled off my second sock and dropped it into my shoe

"I know," I said

"All she wants is a baby," Anne said "God! You’d think she was asking for theHe doesn’t help her with anything! He goes out by hies her every cent she spends no ets He yells at her and abuses her I’ve seen black and blue er over the closet bar "And she doesn’t say a thing," she said "All she wants is a baby

Seven years of e and that’s all she asks And him"

"Maybe that’s her trouble," I said "She lets hiet aith toodown at her dressing table and picking up her brush

"Leave hi with short, angry strokes "She hasn’t a friend in the world Both her parents have been dead for nine years If you and I ever broke up, I, at least, could go hoet over it Elizabeth hasn’t a place in the world to go That’s her ho it a hell"

I sighed "I know," I said I lay back on the bed "I wonder, does she really know he’s having an affair with-?"

I stopped I could tell from the way her head had snapped around what the ansas

"He’s what?" she asked, slowly

We looked at each other a moment She turned away

"That’s fine," she said in that falsely calht of her fury "That’s just fine That really ices the cake That really does" I smiled without amusement

"So she doesn’t know," I said "He said she did"

"Oh, he’s-he’s a there isn’t any word bad enough" I shook my head slowly

"That’s a real nice situation there," I said "I feel like a soap-opera character living in this house On one side we have a ho kicks the guts out of her husband On the other side we have an adulterer and a drudge" I got under the covers "I wouldn’t tell her if I were you"

"Tell her?" Anne said "Good God, I wouldn’t dare If anything could snap her right down the middle, that’d be it"

She shivered

"Tell her Oh God, not me I shudder to think what’ll happen if she finds out"

"She won’t," I said

We were quiet a while I lay there looking at the ceiling, wondering if I was going to have that dreahts were insect antennae quivering, searching tihtest touch of anything

But there was nothing I began to think that ; that I was, already, below the level of awareness, and noould keep sinking until I was as I had been before Frankly, itcapacity I foundto revitalize it in myself Of course it didn’t work It wasn’t voluntary A few ot in bed besideto dreaht?" she asked

"I don’t know," I said "I don’t think so, though"

"Maybe it’s gone"

"Could be"

Silence a while

"Honey?" she said then

"Yes?"

I heard her sing

"About"

"About last night?" I asked

"Yes I-I’ to be sorry about, honey"

"Yes, it is," she said "It’s pointless to think about such things just because of-what’s happened"

"I guess," I said I rolled onto my side and put ht," I said, "on’t talk about it"

"I-just don’t think it’s-sensible," she said