“Of course I did. What is it? Is there something wrong?”

“I’ll let you answer that. She just said that the phone was in her room. It took her six rings to pick it up.”

He straightened up and closed his eyes. “That doesn’t deserve an answer.”

“I’m entitled to one. I had a call placed all evening, every twenty minutes. No answer. I called your mother and she called your father. He called me, as worried as I was. He said that you left him at seven.”

“I was working.”

“At this hour? Where? How?”

“I’m not going to discuss it with you.”

“Your answers have me ready to throw up, Joe. You should hear your tone. I thought that we had a few things settled. More, but I guess not.”

“Karen, it’s after midnight—”

“Where was she? Where was she when the phone was ringing?”

“In the bathroom, for all I know. I don’t know, I was in bed.”

“Where is she now? Where are you?”

“Downstairs. I don’t know where she is. Calm down, will you please?”

“The second time you called today you cursed out my secretary. I didn’t hear that from her, I heard it from somebody else.”

“I said one word and apologized right away.”

“I know. I checked with her. She did think for a moment that it was directed at her and she was shaken. She told one of her friends and that started it going. There are people down here who have been waiting for me to make a mistake, Joe. At the least you’ve given them something to talk about.”

“All right, this is no time to go into it. I’m not kidding you, Karen. I can’t talk. It’s not smart.”

“Why?”

“Think.”

“If she’s listening, tell her to go away. You have the right to take a personal call—”

“That’s not it.”

“What’s the matter with you? Before you left, you were insisting that Steffie and I come down for the weekend. Last night when you spoke to her you didn’t even mention it. I asked her what you said about it and then I had to explain to her. I said maybe you thought you would be home tonight.”

He drew his breath. “I was taking into account the things you had said earlier. About you coming here.”

“Joe, you’ve given me nothing but oblique answers since we started talking. Don’t you realize that it makes me even more aware of that girl? I saw her, you told me about her. You’re flaunting her at me—”

“Stop it.”

There was silence. He waited as long as he could. “Karen, you said something about calling every twenty minutes. I called here once while I was out and she picked up the telephone right away.”