“You sound just like me. Too proud to admit when you’re hurting. I can sit here in tears and everybody thinks it’s just something I do. You’re the first guy ever offered to have a decent conversation.”

“I don’t call this a conversation.”

“But there’s hope of one,” she said.

“What about Padgett? He was talking to you.”

“He’s about as popular as me. People think I’m a whore and he’s a fool. Gives us something in common.”

“Is that true?”

“What, about him or me?”

“I couldn’t care less about him. What’s the deal on you?”

She smiled. “It’s like that song about the Whiffenpoofs… What the hell’s a Whiffenpoof? You ever ask yourself that?”

“What song?”

“The duet Bing Crosby and Bob Hope sang in Road to Bali.” She started to sing a fragment in a voice that was surprisingly sweet. “’Damned from here to eternity. Lord have mercy on such as we.’” Her smile was weary. “That’s the deal on me. Damned.”

“Because of Foley?”

“Everything wrong in my life is because of him.”

“I thought you liked tussling with him. You do it often enough.”

“Tussling? Well, I guess that’s one way to put it. Foley pounds the shit out of me on a regular basis and I got the black eyes to prove it, but does anybody ask how I’m doing? He could knock me to the floor and nobody’d offer me a hand. I don’t want pity, but once in a while I’d like to think someone gives a shit.” She stopped and then smirked. “Listen to me. I sound like a victim. Nobody likes a victim, least of all me.”

“Why do you put up with it? That’s what I don’t get.”

“What choice do I have? I can’t leave him. He’s threatened to kill me and I know he’d do it for sure. Foley’s a psychopath. Besides, if I left what would become of Daisy?”

“You could take her with you.”

“And do what? I got married at fifteen and never held a job in my life. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

“What about that money you’re always talking about.”

“I’m biding my time. I figure I’ve got one shot and I’m not about to blow it. Anyway, Daisy’s crazy about her daddy.”

“Most girls are crazy about their daddies. I’m sure she’s crazy about you, too. What’s that got to do with it?”

“Daisy’s crazier than most. She thinks Foley hung the moon, so why should I get in the way? Sometimes I think they’d be better off without me. I mean, it’s one thing if I leave, but take away his little girl? He’d rip my heart out, if he hadn’t already done it.”