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position in lawn chairs along the decking. At three, Will and Annie Trask arrived. Annie, fiftyish, earth-
motherly, and bossy, immediately tucked a kitchen towel in the band of her broad white pants and took
charge of the barbecue, cooking hotdogs for the kids. Paul assisted, teasing and flirting with her; Annie
liked him and he knew it. He was watchful of the scene in his yard, and of Will, who finally left his seat
among the women to join the salesmen on the patio.
The wives changed from sports clothes into bathing suits and brief terry robes, and posed self-
consciously on towels, drinking mai tais, applying Coppertone and chattering among themselves with
birdlike animation, admonishing their children whenever the decibel level in the pool rose. The men,
wearing college T-shirts over their shorts or cotton pants, sat around the picnic table playing poker.
Percussive music pulsed from stereo speakers on either side of the patio.
Refilling wine glasses, emptying ashtrays, offering snacks, Carolyn circulated continuously, stopping
occasionally and briefly to chat. Paul sipped a martini and glanced at her often and proudly.
Carrying a weak scotch and water, Will finally strolled over to him. Will s paunch, usually
minimized by good tailoring and dark colors, bulged under gray sweatpants and a USC T-shirt. Paul knew
that Will s clothes today were as much for effect as when he was in the office. He was here to set the
company s seal of approval on the men who had exceeded the company s objectives, and on Paul, who
had gotten it done with his leadership. Will must mix with his subordinates, look casual, be relaxed,
comfortable, democratic.
 Fine party, my boy, Will said, shaking his hand.
Paul basked in the approval. He knew he already stood in high favor with Will; this party could only
enhance him.
 You know how to do things right. You and Carolyn, Will said, his eyes darting over the yard and
coming to rest on her as she brought a carafe of wine to the wives beside the pool. He winked at Paul and
clapped him on the shoulder.  Whatever you do, my boy, don t get old. He strolled off toward the poker
game as Paul laughed loudly.
Someone had turned the stereo up, and the general noise level gradually rose as the afternoon wore
into early evening. Paul congratulated himself that he had thought to warn the Robinsons. Jerry was not
pleased with him these days; Dorothy still would not forgive him for evicting the Hunter woman. The
older couple who had rented the guest house had turned out to be indefatigable complainers. He would
smooth all this over tomorrow; he was taking Jerry to the Raider game as final payment in the deal to
evict Val Hunter.
He began cooking steak and chicken on skewers, the smell of barbecue smoke and teriyaki
permeating the evening air. By seven-thirty dinner was over. Under patio lights the poker game resumed,
more boisterous than ever. Several wives, apparently grown bold from the consumption of mai tais and
wine, heedless of hairdos and makeup, splashed in the pool, its night lights turning the water milky
aquamarine. He helped Carolyn carry stacks of paper plates and plastic glasses into the kitchen.
 Everything s terrific, Princess. Heady with vodka and his jubilation, he kissed the top of her head.
 Will s impressed.
She rinsed a casserole, poking baked beans down the disposal with a serving spoon.  I m truly
thrilled that Will s impressed.
His euphoria vanished as a clear warning sounded. He glanced at his watch. It would be ten-thirty,
eleven before the party broke up.  Tell you what, he said lightly,  stick it out a few more hours and I
promise never to win a sales contest again.
 Paul, she said,  why do you love me?
He stared at her. Her tone had seemed normal, even conversational. She was working efficiently,
picking silverware out of paper plates, discarding the plates into a plastic trash bag.  You need to know
that right now?
 Right now. It s important.
He heard a woman shriek,  Jimmy don t do that! Had one of those brats done something to the yard?
He said as patiently as he could,  You re my Princess. You re sweet& 
He suddenly realized that she had not looked at him since he came into the kitchen.  And you re so
beautiful&  She hadn t been drinking, of that he was certain. Could it be her period? They hadn t had sex
for so long he d lost track.
 Princess, he said,  what s this all about? He dumped the contents of half-consumed drinks into
the sink and tossed the plastic cups into the trash bag.  A party s no place for this, to discuss 
 What else? she asked.  Besides sweet and beautiful.
Anger flared. He was tired, goddamn sick and tired of putting up with all this crap. Weeks, months of
it from her. Nothing but crap from her.  We used to have good sex. We even used to be able to talk about
things, to 
 What things?
An idiot, she was acting like a neurotic idiot.  Carolyn, for chrissake everything, he said in
exasperation.  About our jobs, about 
 You talk about where you went for lunch, office gossip. Not about your work. She scraped potato
salad down the disposal.
 I don t even know exactly what contest you won to have us deserve this wonderful party. She
flipped the disposal switch.
The alcohol he had consumed seemed to burn along his veins, up through his head. A cupboard door
was slightly ajar and he slammed it, wanting to beat on it with his fists. She switched off the disposal.
 If we ever have to do this again, my dear and loyal wife, he grated,  you can spend the day at a
fucking hotel.
She looked at him then, and her eyes were opaque, as if his words had deflected off her, had not
registered. That remoteness, he had seen it before& He pushed the thought away before it was completed.
She said,  You like sports, you like cards and games. I don t. I like movies and dancing, other
people, going out. You don t. You like 
Another shriek rose from the backyard.  Stop it, he said.  Jesus Christ, my wits are floating in
booze, we have a houseful of people, and you pick this time for a dissection of our marriage. Three more
hours, they ll all be gone. Three hours, then we ll talk. We ve got to get back out there, Carolyn. These
people work for me, Carolyn& 
She leaned against the sink, her body slack, her shoulders slumped.
 You re just tired, he said in sudden understanding.  It s not that long since you were sick, it s been
a long day. Princess, don t worry, we ll 
Will Trask walked into the kitchen.  You and Carolyn get out there, enjoy yourselves, relax. You ve
worked hard enough. He clapped Paul on the shoulder.  Get some of those wives out there to clean this
up.
 I don t want any help from the wives, Carolyn said, and turned on the disposal unnecessarily,
Paul knew. He managed a grin and a shrug, as if saying to Will, Who can understand women?
 Paul my boy, Will said when it was finally quiet,  why don t you get the wives more wine and
leave your lovely wife to me?
It was the last thing he wanted to do. He looked apprehensively at Carolyn who was swabbing the
counter with paper towels. What could he say to Will that his wife was having a momentary break [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]