She peeked inside as though she were almost afraid that he might be there but with that redhead. He must have heard her open the door for when she walked inside he reached out and held her close. She fell into his arms and burst into tears of relief and joy.

He held her close, his face beaming, his eyes dark and shining.

"I've been waiting for you for days, you beautiful bitch you, and then I heard the key in the lock and…"

"Oh Frankie," she sniffed, "I do love you so." He gave her a little shake and said, "Where in hell have you been? I've been worried sick and no one had heard a word from you."

"I waited for you last night, looked for you today but no one had seen you. I even checked at the 960 Club, but no one knew where you were since you left the party."

She tried to explain where she had been and what Al had told her, but tears kept pouring down her cheeks.

"I wanted to stay away, forget about you, but I knew that I couldn't stay away, so I'm back… back for good," she stammered.

"You damn well better be," he said tenderly.

"But what about the eight hundred dollars, the money that Conrad has been giving me and I spent on clothes?"

"To hell with the eight hundred dollars!" he grinned at her mischievously. "But if you ever do it again, I'll whale the skin off your bones!" He tousled her thick hair. "And what about my redhead?"

They looked at each other with complete understanding and laughed together. Hand in hand they walked right through the living room and into the bedroom, wordlessly stripped off their clothes and clutching each other like drowning people, fell on the bed and made love as though they were doing it together for the first time, and would never be able to do it again.