Another Marvelous Thing Read Online Free PDF Page B

she might vanish as smoke, or throw herself against the wall and accuse him of being a cad, or she might sob out Grey’s name and fling herself down the stairs. But he longed to look at her to see what effect, if any, all this kissing had on her. He took her very firmly by the arms so that she could not vanish or fling, but he was unable to read her expression because she was staring at the floor. This made him angry and he shook her ever so slightly. When she did look up, there was so much on her face he hardly knew where to begin. She looked confused, enraptured, upset, and stunned. He saw desire, despair, elation, surprise, mistrust, and longing. So that was what her determined expressionlessness concealed!
    She looked up and uttered two words.
    â€œOh, more,” she said, and this time she put her arms around him. Francis’s heart melted with gratitude. It was one thing to be in love. It was quite another to be loved back. Francis kissed her and kissed her. They kissed with their eyes closed, like teenagers. Finally Billy pushed herself away. She looked disarranged and upset. Any fool, after all, knows that two adults cannot stand around kissing endlessly. Decisions of one sort or another usually present themselves for immediate attention.
    â€œEnough of this nonsense,” Billy said in an unsteady voice.
    â€œI wish you’d stop staring at the floor,” said Francis. “It’s very disconcerting.”
    â€œI can’t look at you,” Billy said. “It’s too dangerous.”
    At this a smile overtook him—a smile of triumph. He pulled her close again.
    â€œThis doesn’t have to happen ever again,” Francis said, lying through his teeth.
    â€œInteresting,” said Billy, “if true.” With this she slid against him as easily as people slide against each other in a swimming pool and in a very few minutes the decision was made to repair to Billy’s unattractive little study, where, on her threadbare and faded couch, they discovered how ardently and secretly they had waited for one another.
    The first kiss is a snap. It is the aftermath of the first real connection that produces such a mire of unwanted feelings. Billy sat up. The faded quilt she had pulled over them to keep off the chill slipped away. Francis noticed that without her clothes she looked quite chic, unlike most people, who look more stylish when dressed. Perhaps, he thought, it was the contrast between her nice body and her awful clothes.
    Billy stared at the wall, then pushed the hair out of her eyes and scowled her exasperated frown. It was a gesture which by now Francis had seen dozens of times.
    â€œGee, I feel awful,” she said.
    â€œOh, do you?” said Francis fiercely. He pulled her down, and quickly established that she did not feel quite so awful as she said. Their hunger for one another was quite startling—a subject Francis felt would never be discussed.
    Francis did not know what to expect in the way of an aftermath. He had never had a real love affair before. He had had romances; he had gotten married; and from time to time he had found himself in bed with some old friend or other—nothing serious at all: it wasn’t romance so much as social service or cheering someone up. Next to him Billy lay with her arms crossed on her chest, looking at the ceiling like a child filled with some secret, inner amusement.
    â€œIn bed with Frank and Billy,” she began. “Chapter one. Frank and Billy have just gone to bed. They have been in bed for who can say how long. Doubtless they will go to bed again, and the funny thing is, they’re both married, and to other people! What a situation. How long, they might ask, has this been going on? Who will ask first?”
    â€œHow long has this been going on?” Francis said.
    â€œThat wasn’t necessarily a cue,” Billy said, and silence fell between them.
    Instead, Francis watched his beloved begin