“Nothing, absolutely nothing!” Myra shooed her away. “You’re going to sit down, that’s what you’re going to do. Nick, you entertain Rose while I’m busy.”

“Why, sure,” I said. “Nothin’ I’d enjoy more than entertainin’ Rose!”

Rose had to bite her lip to keep from laughin’. We went over to the settee and sat down, and Myra gathered up an armful of dishes and started for the kitchen.

Lennie was lolling on a chair with his eyes closed. But I knew they weren’t closed tight. That was a trick of his, pretending to be asleep, and I guess he must have liked it real well because this was about the umpteenth time he’d tried to pull it on me.

I whispered to Rose, “How about a little kiss, honey?”

Rose shot a quick look at Lennie and the kitchen door, and said, “Let’s have a big one.” And we had a big one.

And Lennie’s eyes and mouth flew open at the same time, and he let out a yell. “My-ra! Myra, come quick, Myra!”

There was a heck of a clatter as Myra dropped something in the kitchen. A stack of dishes, it sounded like. She ran in, scared out of her wits, looking like she expected the house to be on fire.

“What? What, what?” she said. “What’s going on? What’s the matter, Lennie?”

“They was huggin’ and kissin’, Myra!” Lennie pointed at Rose and me. “I seen ‘em, huggin’ and kissin’.”

“Why, Lennie,” I said. “How can you say such a awful thing?”

“You was too! I seen you!”

“Now, you know that ain’t so!” I said. “You know god-danged good an’ well what happened.”

“Just what did happen?” Myra said, looking kind of uncertainly from Rose to me. “I’m—I’m sure there must be a, uh, mistake, but—”

Rose started crying again, burying her face in her hands. She got up, saying she was going home because she just couldn’t stay another minute in a place where people said such awful things about her.

Myra put out a hand to stop her, and said, “Nick, will you kindly tell me what this is all about?”

“They was huggin’ and kissin’, that’s what!” Lennie yelled. “I seen ‘em!”

“Hush, hush, Lennie! Nick?”

“T’heck with it,” I said, sounding mad. “You can believe any god-danged thing you want to. I tell you this, though, this is the last god-danged time I try to comfort anyone when they’re feelin’ bad!”

“But … oh,” said Myra. “You mean that . . . ?”

“I mean that Rose got to feelin’ real bad again,” I said. “She started cryin’ and I told her to just lean against me until she felt better, and I sort of patted her on the shoulder like any decent fella would. Why, god-dang it!” I said, “I did the same god-dang thing a while ago when you were right here in the room, and you said that was fine, I should take care of her! And god-dang, look how you’re actin’ now!”