Chapter 14

ALICE told him the bad news in the morning. She had let him stay all night. Al awoke at ten o'clock to find her gone from the oversized bed. He waited a moment, then got up and went into the bathroom to shower. He found that, although this was the first time she had let him stay, she was prepared for overnight male guests. She had laid out an electric shaver beside the basin.

He shaved, showered and dressed, went downstairs and finally found her in the gleamingly modern kitchen. She had coffee perking, bread toasting, and was fixing a pitcher of frozen orange juice.

"Help yourself to whatever you want," she said. "I'm not much of a cook."

"Coffee and juice will do fine," he said.

She was wearing a green blouse, tan slacks, brown flats. Her hair was tied with a ribbon. She was without make-up. She could have used some. Her face was a little haggard. Dark smudges shadowed her eyes. She looked as though she had had too much dissipation and not enough rest.

He drew her to him and kissed her. She was unresponsive.

"Not yet in the mood?" he asked.

"The spirit is willing," she said, "but not the body. Sit down. I'll pour the juice."

She jolted him with her news while they were eating toast and drinking coffee.

"You may as well know," she said. "I'm going away for a week."

"You are?" He tried to hide his chargin. Was his hold on her weakening instead of growing stronger? "When did you decide that?"

"A couple of days ago."

"Where are you going? Or is it none of my business?"

"It's your business-or I wouldn't be telling you. I'm flying down to Florida tomorrow."

"To see anyone in particular?"

She nodded. "I telephoned the couple the Bennetts visited there. They invited me down."

Jealousy again. A clawing animal inside him. He wanted to grab her and forbid her to go-and hurt her if she defied him.

Instead, he merely said, "You're not going queer on me, are you? Ginny said the dame down there swings like Greta."

"Of course-or I would have had to agree to bring you or some other man along. And right now I don't want you with me."

"Why not?"

She smiled at him. "Don't sulk, darling. I'll have my visit in Florida-but at the same time I'll be deciding something that may be important to you."

"Like what?"

"Like my having you for my one and only, forsaking all other free-dating-with such as Earl Somers."

"You don't have to go all the way to Florida to decide that."

"Oh, but I do," she said. "I need to be objective about you-and I can't when you're within my reach. When I'm with you, I think you're it-my guy. When I'm apart from you, I'm a bit dubious. A week completely away from you will give me a chance to make up my mind."

"Well, I can't keep you from going," he said sourly.

"But a whole week alone-what a headache that will be."

"You'll survive," she said. "And if I know my AL you won't sit around brooding." She eyed him thoughtfully for a moment, then added, "Maybe while I'm away it would be a good thing for you to see your wife-to make sure you're really through with her and want to be my lover permanently. It could be that if you spent some time with her you'd want to win her back from Jay."

Al gave her a sickly smile. "Do you have the feeling that somebody is trying to give somebody the old brush?"

"No, I don't," Alice said firmly. "I don't at all. If I felt it was time to break off with you, I'd say so straight out." She leaned toward him, kissed him. "Don't take it so hard," she said. "Maybe I won't like Florida and will come home after a day or two. Anyway, we have today together. Let's make it a real busy day, shall we?"

They did just that-made it a busy day.

Al survived the week, as Alice had predicted. On Saturday she telephoned him from Florida with more bad news.

"Al, I hope you won't mind too much," she said, "but I'm staying down here another week. Will you forgive me for that if I say that I've decided to date only you when I get home?"

"I'm not sure I will," he said, quickly jealous and not able to keep from sounding sore. "I've got to have some rights if I'm to be your guy. And I don't like your being with that pair down there."

"Now, darling, don't spoil everything by being nasty."

"I'm asking you to come home."

"But I'm having much too good a time."

"You won't come?"

Her voice sharpened. "Listen, Al-I can change my mind about you," she said ominously. "And if you're going to be unreasonable, you can just take it that I have."

He said hastily, "All right, you win. Have it your way. But I can't help wanting you here with me."

"I'll be home with you next Saturday or Sunday," she said. "Okay?"

"Yeah, okay," he said grudgingly.

"That's a nice boy," Alice said. "See you soon, darling." She broke the connection.

Al's anger gradually left him. He was really making out with Alice at last. He was getting a firm hold on her.-and eventually he would get her to divorce Jay Bolton for a big settlement and cut him in on the loot. Al began to feel better-but the prospect of a womanless Saturday night was far from pleasant.

He considered picking up some chick in a bar, discarded the idea instantly. His tastes no longer ran to saloon tramps. Visions of the women Alice had introduced into his fife paraded through his mind-if only some of Alice's friends free-dated. Maybe he could find one who would. Several had kidded with him about it. Maybe they talked one thing and did another, like most people.

Thinking it worth a try, he looked up the Bennetts' number. Ginny Bennett seemed the likeliest to free-date, since her husband was impotent with her. He dialed the number, got Ginny to the phone.

He told her, "I've been thinking about you, sweetheart. And wondering if there was any chance that you'd break the rule against free-dating-just once. Alice has left me high and dry."

"I'm sorry, darling," Ginny said. "I'd like to, for you. But it's as I told you-it's not worth the risk I'd run. Anyway, Clyde and I are going to the country club this evening. I couldn't possibly see you."

"Too bad," he said," disappointed. "Well, have fun at the country club."

Al decided to try Marge Allen next. But she, too, was unwilling to free-date.

"Even if I wanted to-I couldn't tonight," she said. "Jeff and I are meeting Nils and Tuki Larsen. But when Alice gets back from Florida have her call me. The four of us will get together."

He decided it was no use, but then, because he had a salesman's trust in the law of averages, he called Greta Ransome.

"It's Al Kirby, baby," he said. 'I've just had a call from Alice. She's not coming home for another week and I'm at loose ends. Could you possibly take pity on a poor, dameless guy? We could work something out with Mike-like, if you and I make it tonight, he could have Alice one night after she gets home. That would be a fair enough trade, wouldn't it?"

"I'm sorry, Al," Greta said, "but we just don't play the game that way. It would be free-dating, no matter what you called it. I'd like to do you the favor but I won't cheat. If you could work something out like finding a girl for Mike, we're free tonight."

Inspiration hit Al. "Let me call you back," he said. "I'll try to line up a girl."

"She'll have to please Mike, you know. You can't just bring a dog."

"I know, baby. I'll call you."

Putting down the phone, Al thought of Janice. He had threatened her with scandal the last time he had seen her. The threat had reached her. Maybe it would again. It all depended on how much she thought of Jay Bolton-and of her own fair name.

He grinned at the last thought. Janice was a bum and not too bright-but she was a dish. Mike would go for her.

Why not?

Janice was quite a babe. The idea of wife-swapping shocked her. She thought it disgusting. Still, she was Jay Bolton's playmate-and Jay Bolton's wife was his. That was certainly wife-swapping. He might be able to make her see it, especially if he talked tough. Maybe Janice would even go for Mike Ransome.

He dialed the number of the apartment he now thought of as his wife's alone. She answered immediately.

"Al, baby," he said. "How are you?"

Janice said, "You didn't call me to ask me that. What do you want?"

Al grinned. Janice was getting smart. But she still had a lot to learn. He could teach her tonight.

Chuckling, he said, "You're fine. I can tell by the growl in your voice. Busy tonight?"

She said, "Just tell me what you want."

"To talk to you. About us."

"I have a date."

"Break it," Al advised. "Or I'll call Bolton and do it for you."

Janice did not answer immediately. When she did, her tone was caustic. "What's wrong? Are you on the outs with that crowd you told me about?"

"Let's just say I've some new ideas for you and me. Not what I asked you to do earlier. Better see me, sweetheart-or I'll raise all kinds of hell with Bolton. Stuff about you, me, his wife and him that he wouldn't enjoy reading about in the papers."

She swallowed his bluff during a long, hesitant pause. He waited patiently, smiling to himself.

At last she said, "All right, I'll meet you. But I don't want you here any more. What time and where?"

"How about seven-thirty?" He named a restaurant. "Well have cocktails and dinner."

"All right, Al," Janice said. "But this meeting had better settle something-or I'll talk to Jay about you and his wife myself. You can't scare me forever."

Al laughed. "Who wants to scare you? I'll see you, hon."

Calling Greta back, Al said, "I've dated my wife, baby. She's a doll-more than enough to please Mike. I can't guarantee that she'll be easy to handle-but it's worth a try. Even you might like her. Where do we meet Mike and you?"

"Would you like to start off having dinner?"

"That would be fine." He told her where he planned to go with Janice. "Can you make it around eight o'clock?"

Greta said she and Mike could. Al cradled the phone.

He felt good about the way he had worked things out. He even felt that he was putting something over on Alice-getting even with her for staying in Florida another week.

The evening promised to be a satisfactory one.