“Jackie?”

He looked ahead and folded his arms.

“Why didn’t you let me know you’d gone to the Coast?”

“Business. Wouldn’t interest you.”

“Vegas?”

“What’s the difference?”

“We met in Vegas. You were there on business that time, Jackie, and then Tahoe. You took me to Lake Tahoe.”

He sat up. His voice was controlled. “Lynn, listen. I got nothing against you. And I got nothing for you. Learn that, willya?”

The way she took it, without ever showing a dent, made him feel as if he wanted to break something. He took a deep breath and kept staring ahead. It would go away in a minute. It would go away, get indifferent, just the way it always had with Lynn, and with who knows what their names were.

“I can wait, Jackie,” she said, but he wasn’t paying attention any more.

She pulled up to the bus terminal and Murph was standing there. He kept hitching his pants over his belly, and now and then he wiped a handkerchief over his bald head. When Lynn’s car rolled up and Jesso got out, Murph ran up to carry the brief case.

“Thanks for the lift,” Jesso said, “and good-by.”

“Not good-by, Jackie.”

“Good-by” He straightened up and had his back turned when the car took off. Murph reached for the brief case.

“Hi, Jackie.” Murph grinned. “That little Lynn girl-”

“Where’s the car?”

“You know, she’s been calling ever since-”

“Come on, Murph, where’s the car?”

Murph started moving, but it didn’t stop his train of thought.

“You know, Jack, I always say once you get one of them-”

Jesso held the man by one sleeve. “Keep it clean, Murphy.”

“Jeese,” Murph said, and then they got to the car. They didn’t say another word until Murph swung the car into traffic on Fifth Avenue.

“Turn off and take the parkway I’m not going to Gluck’s.”