Эд Макбейн - Strangers When We Meet

Felix smiled and ambled up the walk to the Cole house. He rang the bell once, a short, sharp ring. He waited.

Eve answered the door. She was wearing black Bermuda shorts and a black sweater. Her long black hair hung to her shoulders. Her eyes were intensely blue against the overwhelming mass of unrelieved black.

“Oh, hello, Felix,” she said.

Felix stepped into the house quickly. He did not want to ask for Larry while standing on the doorstep. He did not want to be told that Larry was not home and then have no further excuse for entering. Once inside the house, he walked casually into the living room.

“Out for a walk,” he said nonchalantly. “Thought I’d stop by and say hello to Larry.” Quickly, he sat on the couch.

“Larry’s not home,” Eve said.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Felix answered. He made no motion to rise.

“He went to a lecture at Pratt. He goes every other week or so.”

“Well, too bad he’s not home,” Felix said. “I felt like going for a beer.”

“I have beer, if you want some,” Eve said politely.

“No, no,” Felix said, standing. “You’ve got work to do, kids to get to bed.”

“Well...” Eve hesitated. She had already done the dishes and put the children to bed, and so her evening was free. But she’d planned on reading a book she’d taken from the library. She was, in fact, in a particularly uncommunicative mood and was almost glad Larry had gone to his lecture. She did not, however, wish to be rude to Felix. “The children are in bed already,” she said, “and I’ve done the dishes. Would you like a glass of beer?”

She hoped he would say no, but instead he said, “If it’s no trouble, Eve.”

“No trouble at all,” she lied, and she went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “How’s Betty?” she called.

“Fine,” Felix said. “When I get home, I’ll tell her you’re alone. She may want to drop in.”

“Oh, no need to do that,” Eve said hastily. She had visions of this becoming one of those development drop-in evenings. That was exactly what she needed tonight. Carrying the bottle of beer, a bottle opener and a glass, she went back into the living room. Felix was thumbing through a magazine, which he put down the moment she entered. He uncapped the beer, poured, and then said, “Aren’t you having any?”

Eve shook her head. She smiled to let him know it was perfectly all right to drink without her, and then sat opposite him.

“I always wonder,” Felix said, sipping at the beer, “how a woman feels when she’s alone in the house and a man comes calling.”

Eve shrugged. “The same way she feels when a woman comes calling.”

“Well, not really,” Felix said. He smiled indulgently.

“Mmm,” Eve said, nodding. “Really.”

“Do you mean to tell me that an attractive woman doesn’t feel any difference when her visitor is a man?”

Eve frowned momentarily. Felix had not sounded at all like himself just then. He had called her an attractive woman, and her frown was partially provoked by surprise — she had not thought Felix capable of a subtle pass — and partially by the uncomfortable knowledge of which Felix had suddenly made her aware. She was alone with a man. And whereas she normally might have considered this an unexceptionable situation, Felix had managed to give it a different slant. Still, she didn’t want to seem silly or overly reserved. The frown vanished.

“I guess it depends on the frame of mind of the man or woman involved,” she said.

“Well,” Felix said easily, “what’s your frame of mind, Eve?”

“If a man drops in,” Eve said, “he drops in. I’m not looking for anything, and I assume he isn’t either.”

“What do you mean by ‘anything’?” Felix asked.

“Well...” Again she frowned. Instead of helping the situation, she seemed to have aggravated it. She was becoming slightly annoyed. She’d never really discussed sex with anyone but Larry, and she didn’t feel like discussing it with Felix, who was an absolute stranger and, after all, a man. “Well, any thing,” she said, hoping she had stressed the word strongly enough to cut the conversation dead instantly.

“Yes, but what do you mean by anything? ” Felix persisted.

She became suddenly flustered by his perseverance. “Oh, anything,” she said, and then she laughed a forced laugh and tried to make her voice light. “I’m just a faithful, one-hunnerd-per-cent American housewife. Very dull. Very boring.”

“Very interesting,” Felix corrected. “The American housewife is the most fascinating person you can find.”

“Well, I’m glad you think so,” Eve said, hoping the conversation was moving onto fresher ground.

“Otherwise I wouldn’t be married to one,” Felix said, laughing.

“Well, Betty must certainly make married life inter—”

“Of course,” Felix said, “some situations develop whether the man and woman are looking for them or not.”

“Perhaps,” Eve said. She felt very uncomfortable now. She did not believe that anyone could dwell so long on a subject unless he had a point to make. She was beginning to receive Felix’s message and was convinced he’d come here to deliver it. She wondered for an instant if he’d known Larry wasn’t home, and then suddenly wished she were wearing slacks instead of shorts.

“Sure,” Felix said, sipping at his beer as if he intended it to last all night. “Sometimes a man and a woman are thrown together and things happen. They just happen. Take a man and a woman on a desert island. How long can they remain platonic friends?”

“That’s a slightly different situation,” Eve said.

“Different from what? ” Felix asked, suddenly leaning forward.

“From... from the situation you were describing.”

“ Which situation?”

“Where a man and a woman... just are... where...”

“Where they become a male and a female?” Felix supplied.

“This is a pretty stupid conversation, isn’t it, Felix?” Eve asked. She smiled because he was a guest in her home, but the smile was nervous and unsure.

“Well, I like to speculate,” Felix said.

“So do I, but not on situations in which I’ll never be involved.”

“You never know, Eve.”

Eve laughed, but it sounded hollow even to her own ears. “There isn’t the slightest possibility that I’ll ever be stranded on a desert island with any man but Larry.”

“Many women have discovered that there are desert islands on every street corner, Eve.” He was staring at her now. Unconsciously, her hand came up to tuck a stray wisp of hair behind her ear.

“That’s a... a very romantic notion, Felix,” she said.

“I’m a very romantic person,” he said. “Aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she admitted, smiling.

“And a woman never knows when romance is going to pounce on her, does she?”

“There’s... there’s...” She felt very warm all at once. She rose and went to the television set. “There’s not much reason for a... a... housewife to... to... to be worrying about romance,” she said, surprised to hear herself stammering, thinking, The last time I stammered was in grammar school! She snapped on the set and then bent to select a channel. She felt Felix’s eyes on her back and instantly rose to turn the dial from a standing position. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said, hoping her voice sounded calm and assured. “There’s a show I want to see.”

“Certainly not,” Felix answered. “Time and a place for everything. Right?” He paused. “Right?”

She had not thought he’d expected an answer. “Yes,” she said.

“Sure. Good night, Eve,” he said warmly. “I enjoyed the beer, and I enjoyed our little talk. Tell Larry I stopped by, won’t you?”