The Age of Hope Read Online Free PDF Page A

She wished that he were more thoughtful, that he wouldn’t just take her for granted. “Oh,” she said to herself, “if I go away, no matter how long, I’ll come back and Hope will still be here, prepared to shoo flies from my face.”
    When he finally reappeared he was walking with a shorter man with a square face, older than Roy. They stood beside the car and they talked. They walked around the car. It was a Styleline Deluxe, a hardtop. Brand new, except for the few miles Roy had put on. The two men shook hands, and taking this as a sign, she rose and ambled over and stood off to the side. Finally, she was noticed. Not by Roy but by the other man, who stepped towards her and held out his hand and said, “Doctor Challis.”
    “Hi, I’m Hope Koop. Roy’s wife.”
    “Your husband here just sold me his car.”
    “He did?” She looked at Roy, who was studying her, shaking his head.
    “Yes, he did. He’s quite the salesman. In any case, you’re coming to our place for dinner tonight. You’ll have to spend the night as well, as Roy here has sold out your transportation from underneath you. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Koop. We’ll meet again at our house. You go on ahead. I’ll let Florence know.”
    Driving over to the doctor’s house, Roy was silent. She didn’t care. Just before they arrived, she said, “If you’re going to treat me like a submissive wife, I might as well be your wife, Roy. You walk away and leave me for an hour. I wait, and I wait. And then it turns out that we don’t have a car to drive home. I work tomorrow. In the evening. Will we be home by then? And do I want to spend the night at some stranger’s house? You might have consulted me. I don’t like to be in the dark.”
    “I was doing my job, Hope. He bought the car. I made three hundred dollars in one hour. Just like that. And now you’ve jeopardized the sale.”
    “How? What have I done? Because I said we’re married?”
    “What if he finds out? In any case, I don’t like to lie. I’m not a liar.”
    “Oh, Roy. Goodness. He won’t care. And you didn’t lie. I did.”
    “You’re so stubborn, Hope.” His voice was disappointed.
    They had arrived. The house obviously belonged to a doctor. It was large and made of brick and a second car was parked in the driveway. Three children were playing in the front yard.
    “What was his wife’s name?” she asked.
    “Florence. Her name is Florence.”
    They were given a bedroom together, because of course they were married. She had not anticipated that this would be the result of her little white lie, and she was amused by Roy’s mute acceptance of the fact that they would be sleeping together. Not in the same bed, but in the same room, lying in close proximity—him fully dressed, Hope wearing a nightgown that the doctor’s wife had given her. “Oh, Roy, we can sleep here, side by side,” Hope whispered, pointing at the bed. “I promise not to touch you.” He shook his head, and lay on the floor beside her bed, a small blanket covering him. She giggled, besotted by his rectitude. What a wonderful man. And this allowed her more leeway, more freedom.
    She held his hand before they slept, talking to him, her arm falling down to touch his chest. “What a handful those children are. Especially that boy Adrian,” she said. “Florence must be exhausted.” They had eaten late, much later than was typical for them, and the meal, with three courses that included a leg of lamb, had gone on and on, with much conversation that eventually turned to politics and then religion, which had been quite interesting because it turned out that the doctor was an atheist. Hope was especially curious about his lack of belief.
    “Not a lack of belief,” he had clarified. “I believe in humanity, in caring for one another, in the continuation of the species. I just don’t believe in God.”
    “But how is that possible?” Hope asked. “Where did you come from? Where are you going?”
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