Married Life Page #3

Good night.

Good night.

I love you.

On Friday afternoon,

the 7th of October,

I took the rest

of the day off

and drove north

to the Allen cabin.

I had visited Kay

quite a few times by then.

But today I knew

Harry would be up there.

I was restless.

I needed to know how much time

I had before Harry left Pat.

Before I lost Kay forever.

Jesus Christ!

John O'Brien.

O'Brien was part of

Harry and Pat's group.

An unpublished fiction writer

of some talent.

And to his credit, the only one

among us who actually fought the Huns.

He lived alone nearby and

traveled every so often to town

for drinks and inspiration.

Richard?

Ah!

John.

Yes, I was just popping in

on Pat and Harry

for a breath of

fresh country air.

"The Assyrian came down

like a wolf on the fold."

Yes.

Come in this way.

Thanks.

How are you, Richard?

Yes, very good. Thank you.

Hello, Pat.

Got a bed for

an old friend?

Of course

I have, Rich.

You know that,

or you wouldn't be here.

God, it's a lovely evening.

Isn't it?

Absolutely gorgeous.

Should be fine tomorrow, too,

judging by the sunset.

I should buy

a house in the country.

You really should.

Yes.

Maybe I will one day.

Would you like

a cup of coffee?

No, thanks.

I can put some on.

Please. Don't make

it especially for me.

I could do with a cup.

And some cookies,

if you got them, Pat.

Maybe Richard would prefer

a whiskey and soda

to warm him up

after the drive.

I expect Pat could

provide it, Rich.

I think just a cup of

coffee will do, thanks.

Sure.

Maybe I should go upstairs,

and see if I can freshen up.

It seems I forgot

my weekend bag.

I'm sorry.

I'll survive.

Well...

Now you know, don't you?

Know what?

How things stand

between Pat and me.

Yes. Yes, I guess I do.

At least I know how

things appear to stand.

But appearance

is not everything.

I saw you kissing her

if that's what you mean.

That's exactly

what I mean.

Yes, well,

it's none of my business.

I'm not married to Pat, and I

have no need to cause trouble.

Pat's not the first woman

to flirt a little

when her husband's

out of the house.

It's not a flirtation.

As far as I'm concerned,

I've seen nothing.

The fire can play

strange tricks.

It's not for me

to pass on stories

that could be based

on a vivid imagination.

I'm very much

in love with John.

And he's in love with me.

That's the way it is.

So.

Divorce?

No.

No divorce.

Not ever?

I made a bargain with Harry,

and I'll keep it.

In sickness

and in health.

If I thought he didn't

need me so much...

But I'm all he's got

to hang on to, you know?

He has no one.

I'm very fond

of Harry.

And I can't stand the thought of

what he might do if I left him.

Do you think he might

commit suicide?

Perhaps not

so much that.

He may start

drinking. Maybe.

And his clothes

would all go to pot.

He'd be lonely.

He'd get caught up

with some floozy

who would drag him down and

take all his money with her.

What do you think, John?

I guess

Pat knows him best.

Poor guy hasn't had much fun

out of life, that's for sure.

Do you want to

know my thoughts?

Please.

He would be lost

without you, Pat.

I certainly think he might try

to kill the pain in some way.

Drinking, maybe.

Too much at first.

No, thank you.

And the business.

I can't stand to think what

that humiliation would do to him.

And think of

yourself, Pat.

I'm not at all certain

that one can build happiness

upon the unhappiness

of someone else.

Some could.

But not someone with

your burden of conscience.

You're too good.

Thanks for being

so honest.

Don't you think, Rich,

he might marry again?

With some nice

woman or other.

No, I don't.

I don't think Harry would

ever fall in love again.

Pat is his entire world.

And don't forget I've

known him since childhood.

Harry arrived

late that evening,

not long after

O'Brien had left.

He was disappointed

to learn I was there.

I didn't know

why at the time.

I didn't know of

his plans for Pat,

and that he needed

to be alone with her.

I'll put the water on.

I didn't know there was

a murderer in the house.

Good evening, Rich.

Good to see you, Harry.

Can you believe

this cold weather?

Yeah, I got it.

Just what I need.

Pharmaceuticals.

That's the future.

I could use a good stock tip

if you have one, Harry.

What I could use

is a drink.

Harry!

He just went to

sleep and died.

Oh, Pat.

Harry.

Poor old Brutus.

His heart just stopped.

Here you go. Here you go.

Here you go. Shh, shh.

At least he didn't

have to suffer.

It was a practice run.

And it confirmed everything

Harry was capable of.

You'll have to come and stay with

Kay and me when we're married.

When are you

gonna tell Pat?

One of these days.

Seeing her standing there,

I was suddenly

swept by a wave

of the most revolting

sentimentality.

I had never imagined

that I could be moved

to sacrifice

my own desires for Kay.

But that is what I

now proposed to do.

And it made me

feel happy.

I will come clean.

I knew enough to

set them all free.

Pat?

Yes?

Pat...

What is it, Rich?

Please, tell me.

I could go to town

and buy a stone

with Brutus' name

on it, if you'd like.

Yes.

That would be nice.

What do you say, Harry?

Yeah, if you'd like.

If only Harry had stayed

by the grave a minute longer,

so much might have been changed.

As it turned out,

it was the last time

such sentimentality

swept over me.

What's the uproar about?

Are you on fire?

Come on, throw on some

clothes and get cracking.

We're going out

to celebrate.

Celebrate what,

for heaven's sake?

Well, we'll decide

that in the car.

Come on,

country mouse.

Change into something sleek,

and let's go.

Let no time be wasted.

This is no night for

a beautiful girl like you

to be in the house

all on her own.

But what's so special

about tonight?

Nothing special about tonight.

Come on, go.

Give me ten minutes?

Too long.

Seven minutes.

The horses are

getting cold outside.

Well, if the coachman wants

another drink, he can help himself.

The coachman will!

# Turn back the clock and

let's get together and rock

# All night long

# All night long

# All night long

Sir, there's only 20

minutes left in the picture.

We don't care.

We really don't.

# Now it don't matter

if you got to fight

# The cops ain't coming out

till Sunday night

# The joint is jumpin',

let the good times roll

# And satisfy your soul

# All night long

# All night long

# All night long

# Rockin' all night long #

Would you like to do

this again next week?

There'll be a swell new

picture at the Hollywood.

I don't think

Harry would mind.

Well...

I think he might be

a little bit jealous.

We can't be together

on the town like this.

He might be a bit hurt.

I'm not sure Harry has

a right to feel hurt.

What do you mean?

You know as well

as I do, Kay.

I suppose I do.

It's just hard for him

to find a way to leave her.

I wouldn't want to be

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