Carla by Lawrence Block

Author:Lawrence Block [Block, Lawrence]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Erotica, cookie429, Kat, Extratorrents
Publisher: Open Road
Published: 2011-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

IT WAS ALL OVER. She knew this the next day, knew it the moment she woke up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes and headed for the shower. It was over and she would never sleep with Charles again, and it was over despite the perfection of their lovemaking, despite even the final beauty of yesterday afternoon.

It was a time to be sad. But, strangely, she felt no sadness. Outside of a vague emptiness and a sense of finality she felt nothing at all.

It seemed wrong. She told herself she ought to be properly grief-stricken, but there was no grief present whatsoever. And she realized that this was due to the fact that she and Charles had never really loved each other. She had needed Charles, needed him as surely as she needed a cup of black coffee in the morning, but in the final analysis he was no more irreplaceable than that cup of coffee. In fact, the coffee was undoubtedly a good deal more habit-forming.

But she couldn’t eliminate the lump that came to her throat when she went downstairs and saw Lizzie for the first time that day. The mental picture of the girl in bed with Charles was too much for her despite the fact that she and Charles had broken up. It put Lizzie in a new light and transformed the mistress-servant relationship into one of two rivals for a man’s love. It was not easy to see Lizzie in that light.

“Do you remember Mr. Butler?” she asked hesitantly.

“Mr. Butler?”

“Mr. Macon brought him to dinner a while back,” Carla prompted, marveling at the girl’s poise.

“Oh, yes. I remember him.”

“I wonder if he’ll be around again.” Carla realized suddenly that she was on shaky ground. If she let Lizzie know that she knew about her affair with Charles, the girl would realize that Carla had been playing around too.

“He seemed like a nice man,” Lizzie said easily. And Carla let the conversation die right there.

The day passed quickly. Carla relaxed for the first time in weeks and listened to records in the living-room, almost dozing off as she let herself become absorbed by the music. It was so peaceful with nothing to do but curl up in a chair and nothing to worry about, nothing at all. She knew that more problems would come to her when the physical need for a man returned but she was willing to wait until then before worrying about it. One record finished and another dropped into position on the turn-table, and so the afternoon went.

The doorbell jolted her out of her reverie. At first she thought it was a part of the music, but the second ring brought her back into the everyday world. With a sigh she got to her feet. Lizzie was upstairs, so she had to answer the door herself. She padded into the hallway in her stocking feet and opened the door.

It was Danny Rand.

He was inside the door before she could collect herself. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

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