They went for a walk along Cameron Avenue, along the line of frats and family homes, shadows lengthening, heat starting to break. They moved along the street without speaking. Ben stretched his arms, touched his toes, ran his hands through his hair, blew out his breath. The awful feeling of his stillness was passing. He bumped his shoulder against Ronny’s, they looked at each other sidewise. “Miss Dee let me in your room. She gave me a key, I mean. Loaned me one. I took it back to her.”

“I guess you did charm her.”

“Seems like it. I told you.”

“You had a hard day.”

He had shoved his hands in his shorts, sullen in the dusk, not sure where to look or what to do. “Did Mom tell you about it?”

“She said you would. She was saving her breath.”

“She wasn’t this morning. She got in a fight with Jen. She threw Jen out. I had decided to call it off with her this afternoon anyway but I had to go ahead and do it right then.”

“Your mom threw her out?”

“Oh, you should have heard her. It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.” Ben laid his hand briefly on the back of Ronny’s neck. “Jen was driving her crazy. She didn’t mean to, I guess, but the house shocked her. She’s a doctor’s daughter and such shit as that. She turned her nose up. She couldn’t even hide it. I shouldn’t have brought her home with Ma as sick as she is. Wasn’t fair.”

“Wow.”

“No smirk?”

“No. I’m sure that took a lot out of your mom.” Ronny started to ask another question and closed his mouth.

Ben was watching. “You know you ain’t getting away with that. Say it.”

“I just wondered what was the fight about?”

“Jen was mad we didn’t go to the beach. I don’t blame her, I’d been promising. But I couldn’t fucking help it. She kept trying to corner me for talks and get me alone in a room with her. It was like she was jealous or something. Mom told her flat out she didn’t like it. Then she said something Ma didn’t like and Ma told me I needed to take her home.”

They were standing on a corner where the street ran down a hill, everything quiet. Ronny kept his mouth shut. Ben looked one way, then another. “Come on, let’s go back to the room. I can’t do what I want to do out here.” He had already turned back, and now was waiting. “Hell. I only knew the girl a month. She’s not a bad person, she just wanted the wrong thing from me. Maybe I didn’t fuck her up too bad.”

“I didn’t really know her so I can’t say.”

“Well, that’s the first fucking break she ever caught from you.”

“Hey, I never said anything about her, nothing that bad anyway.”

Ben cocked his head and snorted, then threw up his hands. “Like I couldn’t tell what you were thinking. What the hell do I care now? It’s done.” He waited for Ronny to catch up. “You think it makes any more difference to her than it does to me?”