第38章缘，妙不可言（8）
"Ja;Icalledtoher，"IthinkthatMartel'smadeamistake。Theysentusabillfor175dollars。I'msureitshouldbe17dollars50ts。Willyouorrow，soIdthecheque?"Jaa;Ja;Icalledagain，"didyouhear?IsaidMartel'smadeamistake。"Sheloweredthemagazineslowly，lyingitacrossherchest。Icouldtellshewastryingtobecalm。"Ididnotwantyoutoseethat，"shesaidslowly。"IthoughtIhadhiddenitfromtheotherletters。"
IflushedwhehatJahadspentthemoeve!Iwentfromthelivingroomtositohebed，watgherclosely。Wemightaswellgetitallouti。"Doyoumean，"Ibegan，"thatyouspent175dollarswithoutdisgitwithme?Andwhynot?"Jaosmile。"Iamw，too。I'mgoingtopayforit。"
"That'swhatIwanttok。Payforwhat?Ihaven'tseenanythingnewarou;Jaloweredhereyes。"I—Idon'twanttotellyou，Bar's—justsomethiobuy。"IkeptlookiwashardtobelievewhatIhadheard。Jahadspentthemoedit，andnowdidtotellmewhatitwasfor。Ijustotuhatatall。Therewashegattopaythisbill。Itwouldhavetobetakenfrsat。Thatmeah'sdelayinbuyingthehouse。Itwasnotfair。Itviolatedourplansa，andworstofall，Iwouldotrustheragain。Whyhadshedoome?Iwasbeingangrier，andIdecidedIwasgoihebottomsofitall。"Look，Ja;Isaidsharply。"Let'snotplaygames。Iwanttoknowwhatthatbillisfor?Ihavearighttoknow。"Jaouchedmyarm。"Don'tbeangrywithme，Barney?You'vebeenwmuchtoohardtheselastfewmonths。You'resojumpyandnervous。"Shewastryingtoesthesituationahatmademeangrier。Ipulledawayroughly，displeased。"Look，"Irepeated，"Iaskedyouaquestion。Doyourefusetogivemea;Jame，puzzled，asifshewasstrugglingroblem。Whenshefinallyanswered，Ididshesaid。"You'lljusthavetoacceptthematterasitis，"shesaidquickly。"JustbecauseImarriedyoudoesnotmeatoafewprivateaffairs。Yes，Irefusetoa;Withthat，shelookedmeintheeyesagain。Thatturhedevillooseinmybrain。Istoodupaowalkbadforth，urolmyboiliooppeddeadstill。Ikhihavetotellme。Shehadboughtadamnedminkfurscarf。HerfriendCarolhadjustgottehbefore，andIhadseenthatlooki'seyes，thatlookofgreelikeautonherbackcamefirst。
"Youlittlecheat!"Isaid，lookingdown，thewsl。"Iknowwhatyoubought，ahomereallydoesn'tmeananythingtoyou。Allyouileoffahoughtyouwerethekied，butyouhadmefooled。You'relikealotofothers，aloosespe'sendthrift。"Ja'seyessandherfaceshowedhorrora，andIe。ItwasexactlywhatIwaoseehersufferalittle，too。Shegotoutofbedandstoodbeforeme。"Isthatwhatyouthi;Herowmineuphigher。"You'redam，itis!"Iexploded。"IjustwishIhadknow;Nerwasashotasmioodonequalground。
"Youpoorfool!"shesaid。"Youdon'tevenknowwhatyabout。Youdon'tevenknowwhatmarriageis。You'llfindout。Youhaveaimetofindout，alone。I'mgoiomother's，anddon'ttroublegme。Ioseeyouagain。"Ikionwasreallyseriousnow，butIhadnothoughtofgivihergo。She'llsoonrealizeIwasrightandegback。
&mattheoffice，Ikepttomyself，buryingmyselfinwork。omaurnedfromlundBillbesidemydesk，showiofgolfclubstotheotherfellows。"Bestbuyintown!"hesaidproudly。Heturhasmile。"Say，Barney，youusedtoplay，didn'tyou?"Iforcedasmileandsaid"Suredid，"Thatgavemeaartplayingagain。IfIboughtsomegolfclubs，thatwouldeventhingsupwithJaafternoon，IboughttheclubsIwaartedtoswihefloor。Oneball，IhitharderthatImeantto，andtheballrolledacrossthelivingrhthebedroomandi'shalf-ope。