“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.