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Je
“Why aren’t you going after him?” Dolores persisted.
Je
Dolores looked skeptical. “It must be. But I’ll tell you one thing, if he were as interested in me as he seems to be in you, I wouldn’t be spending my days in a trance.”
That was undoubtedly true. Dolores was never one to let any grass grow under her feet where men were concerned.
“I believe you. Now can we get to these letters?”
Dolores whipped out her steno pad and waved it under Je
Je
* * * *
Je
Je
Marilyn’s knowledge of football was even more limited than Je
Lee was called out of the game for a rest during the second quarter. He took off his helmet and sat hunched forward with his elbows on his knees, staring at the game. Je
The Freedom was ahead 21-7 at the break. Je
“Has it helped to see him?” Marilyn asked as they sipped soda and watched the crowd milling around them.
“I don’t know,” Je
Marilyn made a face. “If you’re a voyeur, so are the fifty thousand other people in the stands with us.”
Je
Marilyn acknowledged that she did.
The game had resumed by the time they got back to their seats. They arrived just in time to see Lee make a spectacular run as the crowd leaped, screaming, to its feet. Marilyn was riveted, motionless, as she watched Lee outwit and outmaneuver his way downfield.
“He’s poetry in motion, isn’t he?” she said to Je
“Yes, he is.”
She continued to watch as Lee was finally brought to the ground. It took three opposing players to do it.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Marilyn commented as the teams reassembled and the onlookers took their seats again, quieting down for the next play.
Je
But Marilyn wasn’t listening, as caught up as the rest of the fans in anticipation of another dazzling display.
Je
The Freedom won, 28-14.
* * * *
The two women went to Bookbinder’s for di
Marilyn had baked scrod and Je
Je
“All right, all right, don’t call him. Let’s take a walk to the Newmarket instead, look around at the shops. That’ll take your mind off him.”
Je
Society Hill was busy on this Saturday night, with couples strolling hand in hand, and families out for a little exercise. A brisk breeze blew in from the nearby Delaware, making it seem cooler than it actually was. Je
They left the shopping area and walked through the restored section fronting the river, which was paved with brick and sported colonial streetlamps and reproduced period facades on the houses. One block from the water was a new condominium complex, a high-rise, where the apartments cost a fortune. Harold Salamone lived there, along with several of the city’s top businessmen.
“How about going to Scruples with me tonight?” Marilyn said brightly as they crossed the street to stand looking out across the bay. “Jeff is staying with my mother and I have the evening free.”
“Marilyn, it is not necessary to supervise me.”
“Who’s supervising?” Marilyn said i
“Mmm-hmm. Clinical psychology, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right. He works nights as a bartender at Scruples.”
Je
“I am, I am. Trying to kill two birds with one stone, that’s all.”
“I see. Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I’m bushed. I’m going to take a relaxing bath and go to bed early.”
Marilyn turned and faced her, outraged. “You mean you’d make me go alone? You won’t even come along to offer moral support? Some friend.”
“Marilyn, that’s emotional blackmail.”
Marilyn gri
* * * *
Je
Marilyn came for Je
Scruples was in the middle of the block at Second and South. As they passed under the awning at the entrance, it began to rain. It had been raining on and off for days, stopping just long enough to allow the Freedom to play the game that afternoon, and it looked as though it would be a wet night.
Scruples was jammed. The music blared and the strobe lights flashed, assaulting Je
Je
Marilyn went off on her own, pushing through the mass of humanity. Je