“And how should I talk to her?”
“Daddy, please, before she hits me again!”
“Irene, what’s going on there?”
“Ask your daughter.” I hung up. When I turned to Gloria, I suddenly burst out laughing. “God, aren’t telephones wonderful, the way you can just hang them up?”
Gloria was not amused. She looked at me apprehensively. “Don’t get upset again. I shouldn’t have given you the grass.”
“Oh, what the hell. Let them play me for the villain. She can tell him whatever she wants. I’m not going near her. I’ve had enough of her for one day.”
In a few minutes, the telephone rang again.
“It’s me,” he said. “Now tell me what’s happening.”
“I’m tired, Frank. Nothing’s happening.”
“Damn it, what are you keeping from me!”
“You’re a great one to be asking that question.”
A tiny pause, then slowly: “What do you mean?”
“Nothing, nothing, nothing. Look, Frank, it hasn’t been a pleasant day and I’m tired. Regina hit Brian over the head with a stick. He had to have six stitches.”
“Stitches?” Another pause. “Well, what did he do to her?”
“He didn’t do a goddam thing to her!”
“Irene, take it easy.”
“Don’t tell me to take it easy! ‘What did he do to her?’ It seems to me your first question would be to ask how he is.”
“Is he all right?”
“Yes, he’s all right.”
“I’m coming home. I’ll take the first plane I can get.”
“Fine. Exactly what she wants. Now she’s learned the power of tears and hysteria.”
“Stop it, stop making her sound so conniving. She’s only a child.”
“Yeah, and Hitler was a child once.”
“I’m not going to argue with you. I’m coming home.”
“You do that. And when you get here, I’m leaving. I’m going someplace with Gloria for a couple of days.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
After I hung up, I made us whiskeys with soda. Gloria kept quiet, waiting for me to talk.
“I suppose I sounded like the proverbial harridan.”
She shrugged. “You were angry.” Then: “But you’re angry at more than just Regina. Something was bothering you last night after Vivian left.”
“Yes. But I don’t want to talk about it until I’ve spoken to Frank.”
“Of course.”
“And I want you to do a big favor for me. Frank made me promise never to let Vivian come here. I’m going to tell him I ran into her downtown on the street today. I want to say you were with me.”
“All right.” She grinned. “Looks as if Regina wasn’t the only one who was a bad girl.”
We sat quietly for a while, sipping our drinks. The voice I had used on the telephone kept ringing in my head, circling round and round one figure—Sylvia. It made me squirm to admit my jealousy; verbalizing it would make it easier.