She turns her face away from me and stares at something across the parking lot. She’s very quiet. Unhappy. Almost angry.

“What are you looking at?” I say. I see the back of her dark head move.

“Nothing.” She pulls the keys out and opens the door. “Let’s go on in. Now that you’ve got me out here we might as well.”

I haven’t twisted her arm to get her out here. She’s driven us over here willingly. Now I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She gets out and comes around to the front of the car looking down, not looking at me. I slip the key in and unlock the door. I turn on the light. A motel room like any other. I set what’s left of the fifth on the plastic woodgrain table and go back and lean against the door. She is standing below the sidewalk, hugging herself with her arms, facing away. She seems to be looking at a blue Chevy pickup parked across the lot.

“You coming in?” I say.

Without answering she turns and comes by me and goes to sit on the bed. I shut the door and bolt it. I’m a little drunk. She’d better be careful. I take the bottle out of the sack and open it, tilt a burning drink down my throat. I hold it out to her.

“You want a drink?”

She shakes her head violently and stares at the floor.

“Well,” I say. I look around and see the TV. “You want to watch some TV?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she says. “Nothing matters.”

“Boy ain’t we having just loads of fun,” I say.

I turn on the TV and kick off my shoes and stretch out on the bed beside her, turning one of the pillows around so I can prop my head against it. I find an ashtray and move it over beside me. I sip from the bottle and wish I had some Coke. CNN news is on. After a while she turns around and lies down beside me. She doesn’t say anything.

“You didn’t have to come over here, you know,” I say.

“I know,” she says.

I don’t know why I always have to pick some crazy woman. I used to be under the impression that after a man has put up with one of them, that that will do it for the rest of his life, that the others will all be halfway normal.

“You want to go back?” I ask her.

I turn just my head and watch her. She’s lying on her side with her legs drawn up. She’s wearing light blue slacks and a black top with red flowers.

“No,” she says. “I want to stay here with you.”

“Oh yeah?” I say. “Damn if you act like it.”