“I just—I don’t know anymore, JJ. I want to do the right thing, and not disappoint your father, but—”

He came a step closer. “What is it, Dolly?”

“The house. It used to be such a peaceful place to come to. But now you’re here, and you’re drinking so much and—I don’t know, JJ, seeing you—” She took a deep breath. “Seeing you destroy yourself like this, JJ, willfully destroying yourself, it makes me feel so—hopeless! I don’t know if I can bear it!”

“Dolly, I’m not destroying myself.”

“You are! You’re drunk right now! And it isn’t even noon! Every day I’ve seen you, you’ve been drinking. And you say it’s worse at night? I just can’t imagine!”

“I just—I—” He ran his hand over his hair, and looked up with hot eyes. “Christ, Dolly, I’m not trying to destroy myself. I’m not! I just—my leg hurts, all right?”

“Isn’t there medicine you could take?”

“Nothing that works as well.”

“How do you know that? You’re going to kill yourself, JJ. My father’s a doctor. I’ve seen what liquor does.”

“Why don’t you just mind your own business, Dolly?”

“Well,” she said then, folding her arms across her chest. She hated to do it, but she knew she had to take things one step further. “You give me no choice, then. I quit.”

“What?”

“I quit. I’m no longer the housekeeper. I won’t stand by and be a party to your execution. Because standing by and watching would be as good as pulling the trigger. And if you refuse to save yourself, then it’s hopeless for the house, too.”

“You don’t have to be that dramatic about it. So I drink a little.”

“You can’t get through a day without it.”

“I could.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Christ, Dolly,” he sighed. “Don’t quit your job. Don’t quit and disappoint my dad. I’ll leave, if you want. I’ll leave. That would be the best thing. I don’t know why I came here in the first place.”

“You wanted to help,” she said, more gently, trying to backtrack; this wasn’t what she had intended. “Didn’t you?”

“Right. Some good I am. My dad must’ve felt sorry for me or something. Asking me to come here and look after the house, when he already had you.”

She wrung her hands. She couldn’t let a false idea that she had put in his head discourage him that way.

So, she took a deep breath and, for once in her life, told the truth.

“Well, what the hell, Dolly?” he said, when she was through explaining. A look of amusement had spread across his face. “You—broke in?”