Follow a Stranger

There was a silence. “Kate,” he said, his voice sharp now,

“open this door!”

“I certainly will not!”

Again a pause, then he said, almost pleadingly, “Kate, I

have to fly to Athens tomorrow morning at dawn. I have to

go to the States. I won’t be back for a week at the earliest.

Let me in, please. I must see you.”

“We have nothing to say to each other. Now, go away.

You’re boring me.” She yawned, loudly, near the door.

He rattled the door again, loudly. “Kate, for God’s sake—I

need you!” His voice seemed muffled by the door, strained

and uneven.

“All I need is some sleep,” she said lightly. “Don’t you

know when you’re not wanted? Now, good night!”

The silence this time was so long that she pressed her ear

to the door, to see if he was still there, and jumped away

when she heard his breathing.

“For the last time, Kate,” he began thickly, and she cut

him short.

“Good grief, you’re worse than the Inland Revenue!

Haven’t you gone yet?”

She heard his heavy footsteps move away, then the slam

of his own door.

He had gone, and tomorrow he would not be here when

she got up. She would probably never see him again. She

sat down on her bed, looking at herself in the mirror.

Hollow-eyed, pale, her blonde hair made her look like a

negative, strangely ethereal and filled with sadness. How

long, she wondered, would this pain last?

CHAPTER NINE