The Hotel New Hampshire

'Money?' I said. 'How much do you think she charges?'

'I don't know if she charges,' Franny said, 'but if I were you, that's something I'd want to find out.' At the intercom, we switched to Ronda's room and listened to her breathing. It was her awake-but-justlying-there-breathing sound. We listened to her a long while, as if we would understand from what we heard the possible price attached to her. Franny finally shrugged.

'I'm going to take a bath,' she said, and she gave a twirl to the room dial, and the intercom listened to the empty rooms. 2A, not a sound; 3A, nothing; 4A, nothing at all; IB, nothing; 4B, Max Urick and his static. Franny was leaving the switchboard to go draw her bath and I gave the room dial a twirl: to 2C, 3C, 4C, then sw

itching fast to 2E, 3E . . . and there it was .. . and on to 4E, where there was nothing.

'Wait a minute,' I said.

'What was that?' Franny said.

'Three E, I think,' I said.

'Try it again,' she said. It was the floor above Ronda Ray, and at the opposite end of the hall from her; it was across the hall from Iowa Bob, who was out.

'Do it,' Franny said. We were scared. We had no guests in the Hotel New Hampshire, but there had been one hell of a sound from 3E.

It was Sunday afternoon. Frank was in the bio lab and Egg and Lilly were at the movie matinee. Ronda Ray was just sitting in her room, and Iowa Bob was out. Mrs. Urick was in the kitchen, and Max Urick was playing his radio behind the static.

I put on 3E and Franny and I heard it again.

'Oooooooooo!' went the woman.

'Hoo, hoo, hoo!' went the man.

But the Texan had gone home, long ago, and there was no woman staying in 3E.

'Yike, yike, yike!' said the woman.

'Muff, muff, muff!' said the man.

It was as if the crazy intercom system had made them up! Franny held my hand, tightly. I tried to switch it off, or move it to another, calmer room, but Franny wouldn't let me.

'Eeeep!' the woman cried.

'Nup!' said the man. A lamp fell. Then the woman laughed, and the man began to mutter.

'Jesus God,' my father said.

'Another lamp,' Mother said, and went on laughing.

'If we were guests,' Father said, 'we'd have to pay for it!'

They laughed at this as if Father had said the funniest thing in the world.

Turn it off!' Franny said. I did.

'It's kind of funny, isn't it?' I ventured to say.

'They have to use the hotel,' Franny said, 'just to get away from us!'

I couldn't see what she was thinking.

'God!' Franny said. They really love each other -- they really do!' And I wondered why I had taken such a thing for granted, and why it seemed to surprise my sister so much. Franny dropped my hand and wrapped her arms around herself; she hugged herself, as if she were trying to wake herself up, or get warm. 'What am I going to do?' she said. 'What's it going to be like? What happens next?' she asked.

But I could never see as far as Franny could see. I was not really looking beyond that moment; I had even forgotten Ronda Ray.

'You were going to take a bath,' I reminded Franny, who seemed in need of reminding -- or some other advice.