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Show 210 One did, f i n a l l y , and he entered, humming bravely. He stopped in the kitchen and poured a small glass of wine which he drank in two long swallows, to steady his nerves. He hummed a l i t t l e more loudly and went into the bathroom, and even stayed long enough to brush his teeth, which had grown unhygienic with all the wine and the going to sleep and waking up. Coming out of the bathroom he paused to yawn loudly and stretch, clapped a hand to his stomach, hitched once at his belt, straightened his shoulders. He marched into the bedroom, but of course there was no one in i t , and got undressed and went straight to bed. * * * * * * The next few days were awkward. She came home briefly the next afternoon while he was daubing at his still-life on the screened porch. He heard her enter the house by the front door and go into the bedroom, and he heard the jangle of hangers in the closet and the muted shriek of the top drawer of the dresser. A while later he heard the front door close and Andrea's Volkswagen start up and pull away. She hadn't even come out to the porch to see what he was doing, and she had seen his car in the driveway. He didn't go to the Coach and Seven that night, or answer the phone the two or three times it rang, and she didn't come home after rehearsal. He practiced the solitary vice while thinking about Gail in whiteface tossing wire chains like quoits over his member, and went to bed late. The next day he drove to the bank to ask how to remove his name from a dba partnership and was told it had to be arranged in consultation with the other partners. Yvonne was there when he got home. Andrea was with her. They were sitting at the breakfast table eating saffron rolls with slices of roast beef and cheese. Yvonne looked at him with grave, sincere eyes. She had to get right back to work, |