The Groaning Board

broke away from
him and ran up the stairs to the roof. He followed her. “Leslie, please.”
    The air was spongy with humidity. She
stopped at the parapet, sensed him come up behind her. “When were you going to
tell me?” she said.
    He put his hands on her shoulders;
she twisted away. “I would have told you. I was waiting for the right time.”
    “Oh, really? When would be the right
time? The day before you left? ‘Oh, Leslie, by the way, I always spend August
with my wife on the Vineyard. See ya in the fall.’“
    “I’ve made arrangements for you to
come up.”
    “Without asking me?” She was so
outraged, she turned to face him. “How civilized. Your mistress is your
houseguest?”
    “I thought maybe the inn...” He
reached for her again.
    She pushed him away, hard. “You just
don’t get it, Bill. You’re making me into a chippie or Twinkie or whatever
they’re called now. I can’t live with it. I want to go home now, please.”
    For the first time since she’d known
him, Wetzon saw Bill was totally flustered. “Leslie, I love you. I would never—
I’m sorry. This is very important to me and I seem to be fucking up right and
left.”
    “Maybe it’s because you’re thinking
of me as this. I’m Leslie. “
    He stared down at her. “Let me make
my rounds and I’ll get us out of here. Come with me.”
    “I’ll wait here, thanks. The air is
less noxious.” She watched him go down the stairs.
    “A toast to you, Leslie Wetzon!”
    A.T. came out of the greenhouse in a
pother of pot. “So the great unattainable Bill Veeder has met his match.” She
held out her cigarette. “Want a toke?”
    “No, thanks. Booze is my drug of
choice.”
    A.T. shrugged. “I’ve been smoking pot
since I was a kid. With the kind of father I had, it was all I could do. I’m
sorry I eavesdropped, but you trapped me up here sneaking a little smoke.”
    “I thought you weren’t here tonight.”
    “Oh, I’m here, all right. I made the
desserts. Or rather, Ellen and I did.”
    “Where is Ellen?”
    “She had a date.”
    “Did you know that Todd Cameron tried
to kill himself?“
    “Oh, dear.” A.T. took a long inhale,
squeezing the smoke into her lungs, then let her breath out. “That will really
upset Ellen.”
    “Maybe she already knows.”
    “I don’t think so. It’s bad enough
that Micklynn delivers a blow from the grave, so to speak, since they haven’t
released her body yet.”
    “I don’t understand.” The pungent
fumes of marijuana were seeping into Wetzon’s blood.
    “Her will, Leslie. Micklynn cut Ellen
out of her will completely. Gave everything to Meals on Wheels and God’s Love
We Deliver.”
    “What will Ellen do?”
    “As far as money is concerned, I have
more than enough. I’ll take care of her. It’s the slap in the face that really
hurt her.”
    “Leslie...” Bill stood at the foot of
the stairs.
    “Good night, A.T.”
    A.T. took another long inhale. She
gave Wetzon a cynical smile. “Good luck,” she said.
     
    The ride uptown was uncomfortable for
both of them.
    “I’m sorry,” he said. “Talk to me.”
    “I keep forgetting you have another
life. You make me forget it. Then I turn out to be just the other woman.” When
they got to his apartment, he said, “All right. What do you want to do? I don’t
want to make you unhappy.“
    “Good. Let’s keep it that way.” She
strode to the elevator. He followed her and they rode up in silence, standing
well apart. She refused to make eye contact. Persuasion is what he did for a
living.
    When Bill unlocked the door, Izz gave
them her usual effusive greeting, then stopped, sensing something was not quite
right. She looked up at Wetzon.
    “Get your leash. We’re going home.”
Wetzon went into the bedroom and began throwing things into her suitcase.
    “Leslie, it’s late. We’re both upset.
Let’s wait until tomorrow. Please.”
    The peculiar catch in his voice made
her stop. She turned and stared at him. He looked miserable. Be strong, she
told herself. “I need to work this out on my turf. It’s so complicated. What do
all your friends think when they see me with you? Will you say, ‘This is my
friend Leslie Wetzon’? The whole world seems to know we’re lovers.”
    “Evelyn’s family has owned a place on
the Vineyard for a long time. It’s something we’ve been doing for twenty
summers.”
    “And you planned to bring me into
that? Oh, Bill, you want everything, don’t you?”
    “If everything