A Cry In The Night

12

The keys to the Cadillac were in the farm office, but Erich kept spare keys to all the buildings and machines in the library. It would make sense that the extra Cadillac keys were there as well.

Her guess was right. Slipping them in the pocket of her slacks, she fed the girls an early lunch and settled them for a nap. “Elsa, I have an errand to do. I’ll be back by two o’clock.”

Elsa nodded. Was Elsa naturally this taciturn? She didn’t think so. Sometimes when she’d come in after skiing with Erich, Tina and Beth would be already awake and she’d hear Elsa chatting with them, her Swedish accent more pronounced when she spoke quickly. But when Jenny or Erich was around, she was silent.

The country roads had a few patches of ice but the highway was completely clear. Jenny realized how good it felt to drive again. She smiled to herself, remembering the weekend jaunts she and Nana took in her secondhand Beetle. But after she and Kev were married she’d had to sell it; the upkeep had become too expensive. Now she would ask Erich to pick up a small car for her.

It was twenty of one when she got to the restaurant. Surprisingly Kevin was already there, a nearly empty carafe of wine in front of him. She slid into the booth and looked across the table. “Hello, Kev.” Incredible that in less than a month he could seem older, less buoyant. His eyes were puffy. Was Kevin drinking too much? she wondered.

He reached for her hand. “Jenny, I’ve missed you. I’ve missed the kids.”

She disengaged her fingers. “Tell me about the Guthrie.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve got the job. I’d better have it. Broadway is tight as a drum. And I’ll be that much nearer you and the kids out here. Jen, let’s try again.”

“Kev, you’re crazy.”

“No, I’m not. You’re beautiful, Jenny. I like that outfit. That jacket must have cost a fortune.”

“I guess it was expensive.”

“You’re classy, Jen. I always knew it but didn’t think about it. I always believed you’d be there for me.”

Again he covered her hand with his. “Are you happy, Jen?”

“Yes, I am. Look, Erich would be terribly upset about my seeing you. I have to tell you you didn’t make much of an impression on him the last time you met.”

“And he didn’t make much of an impression on me when he stuck a piece of paper in front of me and told me you’d sue me for nonsupport and attach every nickle I ever made if I didn’t sign.”

“Erich said that!”

“Erich said that. Come on, Jen. That was a lousy trick. I was up for a part in the new Hal Prince musical. That would have really queered me. Too bad I didn’t know I’d already been eliminated. Believe me, there wouldn’t have been any adoption papers signed.”

“It isn’t that simple,” Jenny said. “I know Erich gave you two thousand dollars.”

“That was just a loan.”

She was torn between pity for Kevin and the nagging certainty that he would always use the girls as a wedge for staying in her life. She opened her pocketbook. “Kev, I must get back. Here’s the three hundred dollars. But after today, please don’t contact me; don’t try to see the children. If you do, you’ll make trouble for them, for you, for me.”

He took the money, flipped his fingers idly through the bills, then put them in his wallet. “Jen, you want to know something. I have a bad feeling about you and the kids. It’s something I can’t explain. But I do.”

Jenny got up. In an instant Kevin was beside her, his arms were pulling her to him. “I still love you, Jenny.” His kiss was harsh and demanding.

She could not pull away without creating a scene. It was fully half a minute before she felt his arms loosen and she could step back. “Leave us alone,” she whispered. “I beg you, I warn you, Kevin, leave us alone.”

She almost bumped into the waitress who was standing behind her, order pad in hand. The two women at the window table were staring at them.

As Jenny fled from the restaurant she realized why one of the women seemed familiar. She had sat across the aisle from them at church on Sunday morning.