The
room
was
warm
and
clean
,
the
curtains
drawn
,
the
two
table
lamps
alight
-
hers
and
the
one
by
the
empty
chair
opposite
.
On
the
sideboard
behind
her
,
two
tall
glasses
,
soda
water
,
whisky
.
Fresh
ice
cubes
in
the
Thermos
bucket
.
Mary
Maloney
was
waiting
for
her
husband
to
come
home
from
work
.
Now
and
again
she
would
glance
up
at
the
clock
,
but
without
anxiety
,
merely
to
please
herself
with
the
thought
that
each
minute
gone
by
made
it
nearer
the
time
when
he
would
come
.
There
was
a
slow
smiling
air
about
her
,
and
about
everything
she
did
.
The
drop
of
the
head
as
she
bent
over
her
sewing
was
curiously
tranquil
.
Her
skin
-
for
this
was
her
sixth
month
____________________
child
-
had
acquired
a
wonderful
____________________
quality
,
the
mouth
was
soft
,
and
the
eyes
,
with
their
new
____________________
look
,
seemed
larger
,
darker
than
before
.
When
the
clock
said
ten
minutes
to
five
,
she
began
to
listen
,
and
a
few
moments
later
,
punctually
as
always
she
heard
the
tyres
on
the
____________________
outside
,
and
the
car
door
slamming
,
the
footsteps
passing
the
window
,
the
key
turning
in
the
lock
.
She
laid
aside
her
sewing
,
stood
up
,
and
went
forward
to
kiss
him
as
he
came
in
.
?
Hullo
,
darling
,
?
she
said
.
?
Hullo
,
?
he
answered
.
She
took
his
coat
and
hung
it
in
the
closet
.
Then
she
walked
over
and
made
the
drinks
,
a
____________________
one
for
him
,
a
weak
one
for
herself
;
and
soon
she
was
back
again
in
her
chair
with
the
sewing
,
and
he
in
the
other
,
opposite
,
holding
the
tall
glass
with
both
his
hands
,
rocking
it
so
the
ice
cubes
tinkled
against
the
side
.
For
her
,
this
was
always
a
____________________
time
of
day
.
She
knew
he
didn't
want
to
speak
much
until
the
first
drink
was
finished
,
and
she
,
on
her
side
,
was
content
to
sit
quietly
,
enjoying
his
company
after
the
long
hours
alone
in
the
house
.
She
loved
to
____________________
in
the
presence
of
this
man
,
and
to
feel
-
almost
as
a
sunbather
feels
the
sun
-
that
warm
male
glow
that
came
out
of
him
to
her
when
they
were
alone
together
,
?
Tired
,
darling
?
?
?
Yes
,
?
he
said
.
?
I'm
tired
.
?
And
as
he
spoke
,
he
did
an
unusual
thing
.
He
lifted
his
glass
and
drained
it
in
one
swallow
although
there
was
still
half
of
it
,
at
least
half
of
it
,
left
.
She
wasn't
really
watching
him
but
she
knew
what
he
had
done
because
she
heard
the
ice
cubes
falling
back
against
the
bottom
of
the
empty
glass
when
he
lowered
his
arm
.
He
paused
a
moment
,
leaning
forward
in
the
chair
,
then
he
got
up
and
went
slowly
over
to
fetch
himself
another
.
?
I'll
get
it
!
?
she
cried
,
jumping
up
.
?
Sit
down
,
?
he
said
.
When
he
came
back
,
she
noticed
that
the
new
drink
was
dark
amber
with
the
quantity
of
whisky
in
it
.
?
Darling
,
shall
I
get
your
slippers
?
?
?
No
.
?
She
watched
him
as
he
began
to
sip
the
dark
yellow
drink
,
and
she
could
see
little
oily
____________________
in
the
liquid
because
it
was
so
strong
.
?
Darling
,
?
she
said
.
?
Would
you
like
me
to
get
you
some
cheese
?
I
haven't
made
any
supper
because
it's
Thursday
.
?
?
No
,
?
he
said
.
?
If
you're
too
tired
to
eat
out
,
?
she
went
on
,
?
it's
still
not
too
late
.
There's
plenty
of
meat
and
stuff
in
the
freezer
,
and
you
can
have
it
right
here
and
not
even
move
out
of
the
chair
.
?
Here
eyes
waited
on
him
for
an
answer
,
a
smile
,
a
little
nod
,
but
he
made
no
sign
.
?
Anyway
,
?
she
went
on
,
?
I'll
get
you
some
cheese
and
____________________
first
.
?
?
I
don't
want
it
,
?
he
said
.
She
moved
uneasily
in
her
chair
,
the
large
eyes
still
watching
his
face
.
?
But
you
must
have
supper
.
I
can
easily
do
it
here
.
I'd
like
to
do
it
.
We
can
have
lamb
chops
.
Or
pork
.
Anything
you
want
.
Everything's
in
the
freezer
.
?
?
Forget
it
,
?
he
said
.
?
But
,
darling
,
you
must
eat
!
I'll
fix
it
anyway
,
and
then
you
can
have
it
or
not
,
as
you
like
.
?
She
stood
up
and
placed
her
sewing
on
the
table
by
the
lamp
.
?
Sit
down
,
?
he
said
.
?
Just
for
a
minute
,
sit
down
.
?
It
wasn't
till
then
that
she
began
to
get
frightened
.
?
Go
on
,
?
he
said
.
?
Sit
down
.
?
She
lowered
herself
back
slowly
into
the
chair
,
watching
him
all
the
time
with
those
large
,
____________________
eyes
.
He
had
finished
the
second
drink
and
was
staring
down
into
the
glass
,
frowning
.
?
Listen
,
?
he
said
,
?
I've
got
something
to
tell
you
.
?
?
What
is
it
,
darling
?
What's
the
matter
?
?
He
had
become
absolutely
motionless
,
and
he
kept
his
head
down
so
that
the
light
from
the
lamp
beside
him
fell
across
the
upper
part
of
his
face
,
leaving
the
chin
and
mouth
in
shadow
.
She
noticed
there
was
a
little
muscle
moving
near
the
corner
of
his
left
eye
.
?
This
is
going
to
be
a
bit
of
a
shock
to
you
,
I'm
afraid
,
?
he
said
.
?
But
I've
thought
about
it
a
good
deal
and
I've
decided
the
only
thing
to
do
is
tell
you
right
away
.
I
hope
you
won't
blame
me
too
much
.
?
And
he
told
her
.
It
didn't
take
long
,
four
or
five
minutes
at
most
,
and
she
sat
very
still
through
it
all
,
watching
him
with
a
kind
of
____________________
horror
as
he
went
further
and
further
away
from
her
with
each
word
.
?
So
there
it
is
,
?
he
added
.
?
And
I
know
it's
kind
of
a
bad
time
to
be
telling
you
,
but
there
simply
wasn't
any
other
way
.
Of
course
I'll
give
you
money
and
see
you're
looked
after
.
But
there
needn't
really
be
any
____________________
.
I
hope
not
anyway
.
It
wouldn't
be
very
good
for
my
job
.
?
Her
first
instinct
was
not
to
believe
any
of
it
,
to
reject
it
all
.
It
occurred
to
her
that
perhaps
he
hadn't
even
spoken
,
that
she
herself
had
imagined
the
whole
thing
.
Maybe
,
if
she
went
about
her
business
and
acted
as
though
she
hadn't
been
listening
,
then
later
,
when
she
sort
of
woke
up
again
,
she
might
find
none
of
it
had
ever
happened
.