Excerpt

I was a little sorry we came in, but just then the waitress swished up and wiped our bottle- cap-sized table off. As she bent over I thought she must be the sister of the peasant girl in the opera. Gravity was defied again. I looked at Erna. She was watching me with one eyebrow cocked like an angry question mark.

Really George. You should wear glasses to keep your eyes from falling out. Hmnf! All that fat.

Aw shucks. Cant blame a man for looking. Some parts of girls are automatic eye magnets. Anyway Id rather look at you.( I took her hand. (Theres something exquisite about you that makes these others look like cows.

She smiled her pleasure and didnt withdraw her hand. I had to release it when our waitress brought the two brandies. I about choked when she named the price. As she bent over to put my change on the table, she let out a yelp, turned and swung at a laughing Deutsher sitting behind her. Evidently he had pinched her rather harder than was considered fair.

Everyone laughed. Even Erna. (Youd better be careful though,( she warned. (As hard as you look, you may get a clout too. From me!

Wow. Possessive already and we hardly knew one another. I didnt care. The old goat returned. Without a word he swung into a series of old favorites including Viennese Waltzes. His finger rippled and tripped and danced, and played on memories as much as the strings. Erna was as remote and pensive as a young girl first time away from her lover.

When he was tired of putting old dreams on strings he shifted back into a beer drinking song. That snapped everyone back to stomping the floor, locking arms, and swinging back and forth. Erna grabbed my arm and we rocked with the rest.

Its more fun at a bigger table,( she said, when the number finished.

Anything is more fun...just with you, Erna.

Do you mean it?( She patted my arm.

Yes, of course. Just being with you makes me feel...oh Lord I just feel wonderful...I feel...clean... and pure and new. I feel like I could just rise up and fly.

Oh my. You have had a lot to drink. What would your wife think of that?

Whoa! Right out of left field! That chilled it. I couldn't remember telling Erna that I was married, but I should have. Damn it! She was watching me closely, rather grimly. (Since shes already sleeping with another man, I doubt it if shed give it much thought.

Ohh. But is that really so important...if you love her?

Hey! Hold on a minute! Youre throwing me for a loss here. What do you mean? You think I shouldnt care if my wife is shackingup with some other guy?

Im sorry. I dont know the circumstances. I shouldnt have said anything. But if you love her...you want her back, dont you?

Hell, if she loved me, she wouldnt be screwing someone else, would she?

Oh I dont know. Havent you slept with other women? Is that any different?( Erna smiled, chuckled and arched her eyebrow at me. (Well havent you?

Womens intuition is not fair. A man just doesnt stand a chance. She couldnt possibly know about the fun Id had on Temporary Duty trips. But she knew...she knew.

Smiling and chuckling back at her, (Welll...even If I did...Im certainly not going to admit to such heinous behavior. Besides, its different for men and women.

Both of her eyebrows arched on that and she wasnt smiling. (I see. The double standard. All right for men to play revolving beds, but not for their wives.

This was getting sticky. Obviously Erna was a feminist. Despite the warning sign on her face I tripped down into the pit of stupidity. (Welll...men and women are different. Were all loaded up with testosterone. Every man in the world wants to have every attractive woman he sees. Really bad news surfaces in a mans life when he first realizes he cant have them all. I dont believe women feel the same way about men

How would you know, Mr. Philosopher? How do you know that I dont lust for every man in the room?

Holly cow! At the bottom of the pit I dug a deeper hole. (I just dont believe its that way. Women are meant to be pure and chaste. A delight only to their husbands. My wife was a virgin when we met. Now that she has been used by another man, why should I want her back?

Erna looked stricken. She has been used? Used? We are just property that can be used? And now to be disposed of because someone else has used us? How very callous you are.

Wow. I sure dont know when to keep my mouth shut. What could I say? I sighed deeply and hoped I looked contrite. I certainly felt contrite. (Im sorry...Im so very sorry...that was such an incredibly stupid thing to say. I really have not been thinking very straight.

Your attitude really shocked me. I certainly hope that you are not so rigid as to think of us as things.

Feeling like an idiot who has just tossed away a golden apple, I was in pain. I sighed deeply again, wondering how badly Id screwed up things with Erna. I fell back and regrouped. (Look. I am very sorry for what I said, but please lets just drop it. Im sorry I didnt tell you I was married. I meant to. In any case, my wife and I are estranged, separated. Were getting divorced.

Erna seemed remote. She said little more than she had to. The evening was shot so I took her home. She did allow me to kiss her on the cheek so maybe not all was lost. When I said Id call her again she hesitated but then said, If you really want to.