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PARTISAN REVIEW
THE WOM AN WHO HAD TWO NAVELS
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there were many things grownups did which couldn't properly be judged
by young people until the young people were grownups themselves; and
that moreover it
wasn't
stolen money. Do you know what she said? She
said no, it wasn't stolen money, it was 'blood sucked from the people.' She
had picked up all those frightful phrases from the newspapers, of course,
but she insisted that they were insults the girls at school flung in her
face. I immediately made inquiries-it's a very careful school-and
I
found that Connie was lying. Nobody had said anything. Most of the
girls there are daughters of politicians too and are so used to hearing
nasty things said of their fathers and mothers they don't think it's any–
thing unusual, or to be ashamed of. So I told Connie she must learn
their spirit, and packed her back.
"She went off-but not to school-simply disappeared. For a week
we had the police looking for her. They finally found her, working
as dishwasher in a chop suey joint in the Chinese quarter. I had to
go
and fetch her myself, she wouldn't let the police touch her, she kept
denying her name and actually seemed to have forgotten who she was,
until she saw me. I don't think I have experienced anything so sordid
in my life. The Chinese were screaming all over the place: they had
heard what an important man my husband is and the panic had spread
through the neighborhood. When I arrived the police had to club at
the crowds to let my car pass through and when I stepped out at the
chop suey joint the Chinese who owned it came rushing out and began
whining and groveling at my feet. They looked awful: the police had
been beating them up and their heads were bloody. I was taken to the
kitchen, and there sat my poor Connie, on a stool, in the center of
the room, with the entire police department massed around her.
"She was wearing a repulsive dress that she had bought at some
market and she had painted her face and had had her hair cut. I
was raging with fury, you can imagine, but I couldn't help feeling sorry
for the poor thing and I was afraid she might make a scene. I never
make scenes. But the moment she saw me approaching she got up
from the stool and hid her face in her hands. I told her she had been
very naughty and should be grateful to all those nice policemen and I
made her say thank you to them. Then I looked at my watch and said
we must be going because it was lunchtime and I smiled around at
everybody while Connie followed me out to the car. On the way home
I said nothing and she said nothing. I had not kissed her nor taken
