HE AWOKE to a pair of lips attached to each of his cheeks.
“We’re off,” Rita said.
“I’m off, too,” Stone replied sleepily.
“You were just great, Stone,” Mitzi said.
“Yes,” Rita said, “but for a moment I thought you were too shocked to accept our invitation.”
“Only for a moment,” Stone said
“We’ll be in touch,” Mitzi said, and the two women moved toward the stairs. Stone drifted off again.
THE PHONE WOKE him a couple of hours later, and he reached for it.
“Hi, it’s Carrie.”
“Hi, there.”
“You sound sleepy.”
“Yeah, I had an afternoon nap,” he managed to say.
“Will you and Dino be at Elaine’s?”
“Sure, eight thirty.”
“May I join you?”
“Of course.”
“See you then.”
Stone hung up, turned on his side, and went back to sleep. He woke in the dark, switched on the bedside lamp, and stood up. He staggered a little before he caught himself; he felt as if he had just run a marathon. Well, he thought, he had, in a way. The bedside clock said almost eight, and he ran for the shower.
CARRIE WAS ALREADY at the table with Dino when Stone walked in. He waved for a drink and sat down.
“You look different,” Carrie said, kissing him.
“Different?” He didn’t know how to respond to that.
“Completely relaxed,” she
said. “It must have been a good nap.”
“It certainly was,” Stone replied.
“I talked to Brian,” Dino said. “Sounds like you got what you wanted.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
“What is he talking about?” Carrie asked.
“Just a little police operation downtown.”
“Is it a secret?”
“Yes.”