.
He signed that note with a huge TLT.
This morning brought back sharply the horrible
day I'd bitten into an apple, then wandered into the room 392 where Sarah had left Pa a note saying she was leaving him and never coming back. In leaving Pa, she left all of us to fend for ourselves. Here I was again having to fend for myself in a house that no
longer wanted me.
The unbearable pain of my shattered love
turned into fury! That fury gave me racing legs. I went
to Jillian's rooms and banged on her door, shouting
her name, demanding to be let in, when it was only
nine o'clock and Jillian always slept until noon or
even later.
But Jillian was out of bed, exquisitely dressed,
as if ready to go out but for adding the jacket to her
dressy, pale suit. Her hair was pulled softly back from
her face, and I'd never seen it that way before. She
looked older, and at the same time, lovelier, or more
correctly, less like a haunted, life-sized doll. "Troy has gone away," I said accusingly,
glaring at Jillian. "What did you say to make him
decide to go?"
She didn't reply, only turned to pick up her suit
jacket and put it on, then, slowly she turned to stare at
me. What she saw on my face made her eyes widen in
alarm. Her blue, startled eyes flicked as if to find
refuge in Tony's arms. Again came that bewildering, brilliant happiness that lit up her eyes. "Troy's gone! Really gone?" she whispered, her joy so great I felt
sickened.
Unexpectedly Tony came into Jillian's rooms
without knocking. He ignored her and addressed me.
"How is Troy this morning? What did you tell him?" "Me? I told him nothing! It was your wife who
felt he had to know the truth, the ugly truth!" Jillian's radiance died. Her eyes went blank.
Whirling about, Tony's fire blue eyes lashed at his