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"How did the date go?"
"What makes you so sure I went?"
"You did, didn't you?"
"I was earning eighty dollars a week Nobody was taking reat dinners or Broadway shows And I hadn't even met anyone I wanted to sleep with"
"Did you enjoy the evening?"
"No All I could think about was that I was going to have to sleep with this man And he was old"
"How old?"
"I don't know Fifty-five, sixty I' how old people are He was too old forwith it"
"Yes I had agreed to go, and I didn't want to spoil the party Dinner was good, and h I didn't pay much attention to the show I couldn't I was too anxious about the rest of the evening" She paused, focused her eyes over ave me fifty dollars And yes, I took it"
I drank so to ask me why I took the money?"
"Should I?"
"I wanted the da a whore"
"Did you feel that you were a whore?"
"Well, that's what I was, isn't it? I let aAfter a few moments she said, "Oh, the hell with it I took a few e I don't knohy It wasn't the money Not exactly It was, I don't know Call it an experiment I wanted to kno I felt about it I wanted to… learn certain things about myself"
"What did you learn?"
"That I'ht That I didn't care for the things I kept finding hiding in corners of my mind That I wanted, oh, a cleaner life That I wanted to fall in love with somebody Get married, make babies, that whole trip It turned out to be what I wanted When I realized that, I knew I had towith Wendy"
"How did she react?"
"She was very upset" Her eyes widened at the recollection "I hadn't expected that We weren't terribly close At least I never thought ere terribly close I never showed her the inside ofon inside hers We were together a lot, especially once I started taking dates, and we talked a great deal, but it was always about superficial things I didn't think my presence was especially important to her I told her I had to move out, and I told her why, and she was really shook She actually begged "
"She told er share of the rent That hen I found out she'd actually been paying twice asI think she would have let me stay there rent-free if I wanted And of course she insisted I didn't have to take any dates, that she wouldn't want ested that she would limit her activities to ti the afternoon, business, which was one reason why it tookShe said evening dates would have to take her to a hotel or so, that the place would be just for us when I was around But that wasn't it, I had to get away from the life entirely Because it was too hty dollars a week and working hard for it, and there was an enor I never did, but I recognized the temptation for what it was And it scared me"
"So you moved out"
"Yes Wendy cried when I packedshe didn't knohat she would do without et another roommate without any trouble, someone ould fit in with her life better She said she didn't want anyone who fit in too well because she was more than one kind of person I didn't knohat she meant at the time"
"Do you kno?"
"I think so I think she wanted sohter than she was, someone as not a part of the sexual scene she was involved in I think now that she was a little disappointed when I took that first double date with her She did her best to talk me into it, but she was disappointed that she was successful Do you knohat I s" There was sofor it "You said you weren't surprised that she was seeing older men"
"No, that didn't surprise me"
"Why not?"
"Well, because of what happened at school"
"What happened at school?"
She frowned She didn't say anything, and I repeated the question
"I don't want to get anybody in trouble"
"She was involved with someone at school? An older man?"
"You have to remember I didn't know her very well I kneho she was to say hello to, and maybe I was in a class or tith her at one time or another, but I barely knew her"
"Was it tied in with her leaving school just a few raduation?"
"I don't really know thatyou tellI would otherwise find out, anyway You'll just save reat deal of time and travel I'd rather not have to make a trip out to Indiana to ask a lot of people so questions I-"
"Oh, don't do that!"
"I'd rather not But it's up to you"