496
JOYCE CAROL OATES
MARTIN: He looks like trouble. He looks like a detective....
PETER: No, that isn't it. He's a friend of the girl's but he's leaving.
FATHER: Who is this?
PETER: Her young husband has just come home; their domestic life
must begin; there is no room for you. Private life is sacred.
FATHER: Shelley -
SHELLEY: Don't make me look at you!
FATHER
hesitates, then puts his things together slowly and pre–
pares to leave.
SHELLEY
stands with her back to him, her hands
pressed against her face.
PETER
(to
FATHER): You don't exist to her. You're just a beak and
claw fluttering around her head; she's always dreaming about that
kind of thing; she dreams of crowds. Up here, we take care of
her. We love her.
FATHER: But
I
can't leave her here....
MARTIN: Who the hell is this guy?
PETER
(briskly):
Sit down and relax! You've had a hard day at the
Post Office, right? You want some supper, right? You want some
loving, right? This gentleman is on his way out.
FATHER: But if
I
leave....
MARTIN
(both frightened and aggressive):
Look, you, get the hell
out of here!
I
don't like the looks of things!
FATHER: Shelley ...?
SHELLEY:
I
don't hear anything!
I
will never say anything again!
Silence.
FATHER
picks up the suitcase and leaves.
MARTIN: What the hell was that all about?
I
thought nobody knew
about her up here. What if the cops come? Who's been talking?
PETER: Relax, take off your shoes. Take off your coat. Did you smell
supper as you carne up the stairs?
MARTIN: The hell with supper. I'm not eating here.
MARTIN
crosses to
SHELLEY
and takes hold of her by the back of
the neck and shakes her.
MARTIN: You!
I
don't trust you - you're sweating like a pig! You
smell like a pig!
SHELLEY
is passive in his hands; she submits to being shaken,
mauled.
PETER:
I
guarantee you that she has not been unfaithful.
I
was here
all along.
..
t
