“You haven’t seen Helen for five years — how can you be so positive of what she was like? People change, you know.”
Betty nodded. “I even began to believe that, for a while. You were pretty convincing — and then it seemed to me you started overdoing it. And I got more confused, and didn’t know where I was.”
“Obviously, in a state of utter confusion.”
She shook her head. “Not now. You see, there was another thing I couldn’t understand — why you were so terribly rude, so frightfully anxious to get rid of me. And then this morning, after I left here, it suddenly came to me.”
“What did?”
“The explanation. I have to tell you this, so you’ll understand what I did. It’s going to sound terribly conceited, but — well, I’ve never known a man who’s seen as much of me as you have, who — I don’t mean it that way, and I’m sorry about the sunsuit this morning—”
“Please don’t be,” he said. “You were sheer delight this morning.”
“I’m not fishing. I only meant that I’ve never spent this much time with a man without his making some kind of a pass at me. I know that sounds awful, but — well, it didn’t seem normal. And I’m sure you are.” Conway himself, at this point, was sure of nothing. “Then I thought, ‘Maybe I’m all right for Topeka, but this is Hollywood.’ So I walked down Hollywood Boulevard, and was very observant, and the reactions seemed about the same as at home, or maybe more so. So that’s when I was certain.”
“Certain of what?”
“That there was another woman.” Conway half-rose from his chair, then collapsed again. “Then I wasn’t confused any more, because everything made sense,” she continued. “Originally I’d thought you’d probably killed Helen in a fit of rage, which would be perfectly understandable — I wanted to myself a dozen times when we were kids. But as soon as I saw you I knew you weren’t like that — you’re the long-suffering type, who’d stick until she drove you crazy.” He stared at her, unnerved by this mixture of fact and fantasy. “Or you could have gotten a divorce — Helen would have made you pay, but it would have been worth it. But — if you’d found someone else, that’s the one thing Helen would never forgive, and you’d never be able to get rid of her. So that explained why you did it, and why you could look at me as if I was painted on a wall, and why you were so anxious to get me out of the house. I even rather enjoyed thinking how jealous of me she must be — the woman, I mean.”