366
PARTISAN REVIEW
boy." He did not want to sleep, but lay on his futon and dozed, hoping
she would wake, but she slept all night, and woke in the morning early.
Again she asked for this and that, tea, an apple, food for the cat in its
saucer. The neighbor came in, saw Ben there, carrying cups and plates
into the kitchen, and was pleased for she had defended Ben to the other
people on the landing, or who had seen him on the stairs. Now she
could say that Ben was looking after Mrs. Biggs.
There was a little conference by the bed. The old woman not want–
ing to get up was a new thing, which the neighbor understood very well,
but who was going to look after her? Mrs. Biggs asked her to get her
pension, for she felt too poorly and-she was apologetic-empty the
eat's dirt box. Both women understood that Ben could not do this: the
mere idea of it-impossible. Even though the eat's fur was quiet, and she
no longer sat with her eyes fixed on Ben. When the neighbor returned
with Mrs. Biggs's pension she laid the money on the table, and said,
looking at Ben: "That's not enough for more than her and the cat."
"He's been using his money to buy me things," said the old woman,
but they all knew what the situation was.
"That's all right then," said the neighbor, and went off to spread the
news that the yeti was looking after Mrs. Biggs as if he were her son.
And so that time went, a happy time, the best in Ben's whole life,
looking after the old woman, even taking her clothes and her bedclothes
to the launderette, cooking up dishes from frozen to feed her-but he
usually finished them, for she ate so little. But it could not last, because
all this time the money was going, going, and he soon had none left.
If
he wanted to stay there, with Mrs. Biggs and the cat, then he would
have to get more money and he did not know how. The neighbor, bring–
ing in the pension money, carefully did not look at Ben, and he knew it
was a criticism. The old woman did not criticize him, but lay and dozed,
or sat and dozed, her hand so often pressing on her heart, saying, "Ben,
we could both do with a cup of tea, I am sure."
He was hungry, for he was trying to eat as little as he could.
It
could
not go on. He told her he was going to see about a job, and saw her sad
little smile. "Be careful, Ben," she said. And Ben left: he had no home in
this world.
