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"WELL, I GOT US A BABY-SITTER FOR TONIGHT, " Anne told ot ho son from my shoulder and put him on the floor I kissed ht out after e’ve been through"
"Amen," she said "I feel as if I’ve done ten years’ field work for the Psychical Research Society" I laughed and patted her "And how’s the little mother?" I asked
"A lot better now, thank you, Mr Mediuht in the belly," I said It was a forced joke I couldn’t tell her about the dull headache I’d had all day, the s of awareness She was too happy for ain And, for that ue and undefined And I was daain
"Who’s the sitter?" I asked while I ashing up for supper
"The girl Elsie told us about," Anne said "She’s really a deal too Only charges fifty cents an hour"
"How about that?" I said I thought about it a moment "You sure she’s reliable?"
"You remember what Elsie said about her," Anne said " ’Real reliable’ " I remembered
I drove over to get the girl a little before eight She lived about four miles from our house which wasn’t too satisfactory but we’d been looking for a baby-sitter a long tiht out badly
I braked in front of the girl’s house and started to get out when the front door opened and she caht blue jeans she wore did nothing to conceal it She earing a brown leather jacket and there was a faded yellow ribbon like a streak of butter through the drabness of her brunette hair She wore shell-rilasses
I pushed open the door and she slid in beside me and pulled the door shut
"Hello," I said
"Hello" Her voice was faint She didn’t look at me I released the hand brake, checked the rear-view mirror, then made a fast U-turn and started back
"My name’s Tom Wallace," I said
She didn’t reply
"Your name’s Dorothy?"
"Yes" I could hardly hear her
I drove a few blocks before I glanced over at her She was staring straight ahead at the road, looking very soan to feel uncomfortable
"What’s your last name?" I asked I didn’t hear what she mumbled "What was that?" I asked
"Muller," she said
"Oh Uh-huh" I signaled, turned right onto Hawthorne Avenue and picked up speed again
"Have you sat for Elsie long?" I asked
"Elsie Long?"
"No I ?"
"No"
"I see" What was there about her that disturbedif you had a time limit," I said "We assuht "
"No"
"I see Your mother doesn’t et an impression in my mind-that she had no ; or, rather, thinking aloud Her head turned quickly In the darkness I could feel her eyes on h she didn’t speak
I clearedthe risk that I was right as well as the risk that Elsie didn’t even know about it
"Oh" From the way she said it I couldn’t tell if she’d spotted ain So did I I drove the rest of the ithout a word, wondering what it was I felt so uneasy about When we got to the house Dorothy got out of the car and walked to the front door There she waited until I came up on the porch and opened it for her I noticed how short she was
"Go on in," I said, feeling a crawling sensation onroory I’d hoped for a pleasant evening of forgetfulness with Anne Now all the disturbances were beginning again inexplicable and enraging
Anne ca room
"Hi," she said
Dorothy’s lips twitched into a mechanical smile I saw that her white, thick-featured face was dotted with tiny pimples
"The baby’s asleep," Anne told her "You shouldn’t have any trouble with hi burst of dismay in myself It made me catch my breath When it left-almost immediately-it left me limp
"I’ll be ready in a second," Anne said to et what I answered except that it was said distractedly Anne went back into the bathroom to brush her hair and Dorothy stood by the back , near where I’d seen the wo sensation in lanced at estured toward the bookcase
"If you-uh-care to read anything," I said, "feel free to-" Her eyes fell from mine She still had her jacket zipped to the neck, her hands deep in the slash pockets
"Take off your jacket, why don’t you?" I said She nodded without looking at azed at her a moment What I felt was-as it had always been-without definition;else
"Well, there’s the television set," I said
She nodded once ot myself a drink of water It tasted brackish toht if it kills you!
"If you get hungry," I called to Dorothy, "feel free to take whatever you want in the icebox" No sound
As I went back in she was just starting to take off her jacket I caught a irl her age Then the jacket was off, her shoulders had e blouse she wore had fallen into veiling looseness around her A flush darkened her cheeks I walked past her as if I hadn’t noticed I went into the bathroom and looked over Anne’s shoulder into the ht?" she asked
"Sure Why do you ask?"
"You looked a little peaked"
"I’m fine," I said I drew a cohofthe possibility I was losing
"Yes" Dorothy got up from the sofa
"You’ll have to lock the door from the inside We can’t do it with a key"
"Oh" Dorothy nodded once
"Well, good night," said Anne "We’ll see you later" Dorothy grunted
I cannot describe the crushing sensation I felt when I heard the sound of the door being locked by Dorothy For a hten Then Anne tooka smile for her sake, I escorted her to the car
"Did I tell you, you look gorgeous tonight?" I asked as I slid onto the front seat beside her She leaned over and kissed htly "Kind sir," she said
I held her a rance of her perfu to stop this daood," I said
"Thank you, darling"
Then I looked up toward the house and thought I saw Dorothy watching us through the parted blinds
"Honey, what is it?" Anne asked
I drew back, sly, I’m afraid "What do you mean?" I asked
"You positively twitched"
"Did I positively twitch, love?" I tried to cover up "It is passion, it is desire" She cocked her head a little
"Oh so?" she said
"Oh so, indeed," I said "Don’t think you can hide behind your condition"
"Well, you’re the freshest darinned and started the engine As we pulled away froain and this time there was no doubt; I definitely saw the blinds slip back into place So jerked in my stoo running back to the house I actually had to fight the inclination My foot jerked on the gas pedal and the car jolted a little
"Easy does it, Barney Oldfield," Anne said
"It is your presence, Madaed to keep from my voice the turmoil I felt My hands would have shaken if they hadn’t been claer only made it worse
"Oh, did you ask her if she has a time li immediately that I’d lied and said we had to be back at eleven-at ten
"Wonderful," Anne said, as I’d feared, "we can enjoy ourselves without keeping one eye on the clock"
"Yeah" The charm failed this time I couldn’t keep what I felt out of my voice Out of the corner of my eye I saw Anne look over at me as I turned onto the boulevard
"That was a very inconclusive yeah," she said
"Not at all, my-" I started, then stopped I realized that it was Richard I was concerned about and Anne certainly couldn’t object to that If only I could put it in such a way that she wouldn’t think it was the "telepathy business" again I was actually beginning to get a guilt complex about it