“You asked her to work at this hour? You worry about me when I’m traveling late.”

“She’s going to stay over. She’s all right.”

“Joe, she’ll have her boyfriend in—more ways than one.”

“Karen, she asked me if she could. This job is important. I told her I wanted her to take care of the apartment.”

“Joe, what’s the matter with you? I would have done it for you gladly—Steffie and I together. Now you have her and her boyfriend in our bed. I like her and he’s probably a very nice boy, but I care about that place. It is ours, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is. You know I don’t like to ask you to do these things. You work hard enough. I wasn’t thinking of the other side of it. Just that.”

“Joe, is anything the matter? Is there anything bothering you?”

“I don’t know, Karen. I don’t think so.”

“This isn’t working out. Drop it and come home. Give her back the money. We can stand the loss.”

“No—no, it’s no way to do business. I wanted it. There is a job here.”

“I don’t like what it’s doing to you,” she said.

“I don’t know if it is doing anything to me. Maybe I’m coming down with a cold. I was cold last night when I was following that woman around on her shopping trip.”

“If you get sick, Joe, I want you to come home.”

“Sure.”

“I mean it.”

“Okay. Listen, what about this weekend? I want to see you.”

“I haven’t thought about it, honey. You’ll probably be home by then, won’t you? Let’s not go anywhere. Let’s just stay home.”

“Are you all right, Karen?”

“Yes. I’m worried about you.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m all right. We’re all right, you and I.”

“I know that. Do you want me to do anything? I’ll call Florence, if you want.”

He had succeeded in really upsetting her. She wanted to do something—anything. “I told Florence I’d call tomorrow. You get some sleep. That’s what I’m going to do. We’ll get some rest and we’ll feel better in the morning.”