“Got anything good for breakfast? I feel pretty worn out today.”
“I guess you were out late last night.”
He nodded. She couldn’t stop asking now; she couldn’t stop thinking about Robert Holton and the dark-haired girl.
“Probably one of those big parties, I guess.”
He nodded and said, “Sure, one of those big parties.”
She was not sorry that he lied. “We got some good sausage today,” she said.
“I’ll take whatever you got ... and black coffee.”
“Sure, I’ll go get it.” She walked back to the kitchen. She frowned when she saw Mrs Merrin looking at her. She had to look serious even though she was happy. He had at least not wanted to tell her that he was out with another girl. She had made so many images of Holton and herself that she accepted an imagined closeness as real. He had not really been unfaithful this time.
She called out his order to the cook and then she fixed her snood in the steamy mirror. She had bought a dark snood and she noticed now that it made her hair look darker, look rather mysterious. It felt good to look mysterious.
His breakfast was ready and she took it out to him.