«What?» he asked.
«Consumed with guilt, are we?» Martha said, and then went on. «I always wondered why they had a condom machine in the ladies' room. To protect the ladies? Or the men?»
«Jesus, Martha!»
«The first time I bought one, he was willing, but when I went to his room, I wasn't. Actually, it was the penthouse, here in the San Carlos. He was a very rich, and very nice, really, young Marine Aviator, and he told me he was in love with me. Maybe if he hadn't said that, I would have gone through with it. Anyway, I didn't. You're the first man since Greg, if you've been wondering. And since he was the first, you're number two.»
«Oh, Christ, Martha!»
«I've had a number of offers, of course,» she said. «But aside from… the very nice, very rich young aviator… I never really wanted to. And I didn't go through with that. Until today, when I saw you get out of the car, I had just about convinced myself that whatever I was, I was not the Merry Widow of fame and legend. You know what that means, really, in German?»
«What?»
«The title of that operetta,
Die Lustige Witwe
? Popularly known as
The Merry Widow
? Lustige means 'lusty.' Full of lust.»
«Oh, for Christ sake!»
«But when I saw you get out of your car, I realized I was wrong. I was suddenly very
lustige
indeed.»
«Martha, for Christ's sake!»
«And now that you know, are you really disgusted with me, or do you think, as a kindness, you could force yourself to put your arms around me? Right now, I feel very lonely.»
He reached for her and wrapped his arms around her and comforted her as she sobbed against his chest.
«I thought I was going to die when Greg got killed. I did, inside. And then I started having fantasies about you. Jim would come home. Jim would comfort me.»
«Jesus!»
«Today wasn't the first time I've caught you looking up my dress,» she said, her sobs turning into giggles. «Thought I didn't notice? I noticed!»
«You're really something, Martha.»
«And then
you
were KIA, you bastard!» she said. «And I really died inside all over again. And then you came back from the dead, and
didn't
call, and I understood that I'd been a little crazy, thinking that you felt anything for me—or I felt anything for you. And then, you bastard, you show up without warning at the house, and started looking at me like that.»
«You mean looking up your dress?»
«That too,» she said. «But I meant the look in your eyes when you saw me. You know the first thing I thought when I saw you?»
«I'm afraid to ask.»
«Actually, the second thing. The
second
thing I thought was that I was really glad I hadn't gone to bed with… the nice young man.»
«What was the first thing?»
«You'll never know. You can probably guess, but I'll never tell you.»
«And what are you thinking now?»
«I'm thinking you don't seem very enthusiastic. Anyway, it's time for you to take me home, or Daddy will get suspicious.»
«I didn't expect this, Martha,» he said. «I'm trying to sort it out.»
«You've got to learn to take a chance,» she said. «Go for broke. Hope for the best. Like I did when I bought two of those things in the ladies' room.»
He didn't reply.
She pushed herself up and looked down at him.
«I'm getting the feeling I'm making you uncomfortable,» Martha said. «If I am, for God's sake, don't try to be a gentleman.»
He touched her nipple with his finger.
«Only
two
? You should have bought three, four, half a dozen.»
She moved her body so that he could get his mouth on her nipple.
«Is that what you were thinking? Is that what you wanted to do?» she asked.
«Oh, God, yes,» he said.
«I told you I always know what you're thinking,» Martha said, as she pressed her breast against his face. «Oh, God, Jimmy, I'm so glad you're back!»
Chapter Eleven
note 40
The Greenbrier Hotel
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
0440 8 March 1943
Under the military administration of the Greenbrier Hotel, the desk clerk was called the charge of quarters. Whatever he was called, he was the same petty officer second who had the duty when Weston reported in, and he was asleep in an armchair behind the desk when Weston walked up to ask for his key.
Weston took a certain cruel pleasure in ringing the bell on the desk with sufficient energy to bring the charge of quarters to sudden wakefulness.
Jim Weston was not in a very good mood. He had driven straight through from Pensacola, stopping only for gas and a couple of really terrible hamburgers. During that time, he'd had plenty of time to consider what an unprincipled miserable sonofabitch he was, first for what he had done to Martha, and second for what that meant with regard to his relationship to Janice.
«Sorry to wake you,» Weston said with monumental insincerity.
The charge of quarters looked at his watch.
«You just got back in time to keep the shit from hitting the fan, Captain, « he said.
«And what does that mean?»
«Commander Bolemann told me to call him if you wasn't back at 0500. If you wasn't, he was going to call the state police. It's 0441.»
He picked up the telephone on the desk and gave the operator who answered a number. «Sir, Ulrich at the front desk? Captain Weston just came in, sir.» There was a pause, then Ulrich added: «Aye, aye, sir.»
He hung up and turned to Weston. «You're to go to the Commander's quarters, Captain,» he said. «Two oh one. Take the corridor to the right at the head of the stairs.»
Weston was halfway to the wide staircase when Ulrich called his name. He turned and saw that Ulrich was holding out his key and a stack of small yellow sheets of paper. To discourage guests from taking them out of the hotel, the keys were attached to enormous, heavy brass plates.
He turned, walked back to the desk, and took them.
There were eight small yellow sheets of paper, each a message for Captain Weston, each with a date-and-time stamp.
Lieutenant (j.g.) Hardison asks that you call her, Female Officers' Quarters, USN Hospital, Phila.
That one was date-and-time stamped 1540 5Mar43. Ten minutes after he had made his surreptitious early exit from the Greenbrier. He wondered why she didn't give a number, then remembered there was some sort of dedicated line between USNH Philadelphia and the Greenbrier. Commander Bolemann had told him that he could use it if he wanted to.
Lieutenant (j.g.) Hardison asks that you call her, Ward G-4, USN Hospital, Phila.
That one was date-and-time stamped 0039 6Mar43. Janice apparently tried to call him again as soon as she went off duty, in her sweet, naively trusting belief that at midnight he would certainly be in bed.
Alone
in bed. There were five more messages, indicating that Janice tried and failed to contact him five more times— one of which coincided with a time when he was engaged in carnal union with Mrs. Gregory F. Culhane in the San Carlos Hotel. Pensacola, Florida. The eighth message had originated within the Greenbrier Hoteclass="underline"