Ирвин Шоу (Irwin Shaw)RETURN TO KANSAS CITY by Irwin Shaw
Arline opened the bedroom door and softly went over between the twin beds, the silk of her dress making a slight rustle in the quiet room. The dark shades were down and the late afternoon sun came in only in one or two places along the sides of the window frames, in sharp, thin rays.
Arline looked down at her husband, sleeping under the blankets. His fighter's face with the mashed nose was very peaceful on the pil¬low and his hair was curled like a baby's and he snored gently because he breathed through his mouth. A light sweat stood out on his face. Eddie always sweated, any season, any place. But now, when she saw Eddie begin to sweat, it made Arline a little angry.
She stood there, watching the serene, glove-marked face. She sat down on the other bed, still watching her husband. She took a lace- bordered handkerchief out of a pocket and dabbed at her eyes. They were dry. She sniffed a little and the tears started. For a moment she cried silently, then she sobbed aloud. In a minute the tears and the sobs were regular, loud in the still room.
Eddie stirred in his bed. He closed his mouth, turned over on his side.
"Oh, my," Arline. sobbed, "oh, my God."
She saw, despite the fact that Eddie's back was toward her, that he had awakened.
"Oh," Arline wept, "sweet Mother of God."
She knew that Eddie was wide awake listening to her and he knew that she knew it, but he hopefully pretended he hadn't been roused. He even snored experimentally once or twice. Arline's sobs shook her and the mascara ran down her cheeks in straight black lines.
Eddie sighed and turned around and sat up, rubbing his hair with his hands.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "What's bothering you, Arline?"
"Nothing," Arline sobbed.
"If nothing's the matter," Eddie said mildly, "what're you crying for?"
Arline didn't say anything. She,popped sobbing aloud and turned the grief inward upon herself and wfept all the more bitterly, in silence. Eddie wiped his eye with the heel of his hand...
"There are six more rooms in this house, Arline darling," he said. "If you have to cry, why is it necessary to pick the exact room where I am sleeping?"