his own relationship with Courtney was much the same-and that he and the
boy would soon be as close as they both were to the woman.
“She says I’m costing you too much,” Colin said, passing the receiver to
Doyle.
He took it. “Courtney?”
“Hi, darling.” Her voice was rich and full. She might have been beside
him instead of at the other end of twenty-five hundred miles of
telephone wire.
“Are you okay?”
“Lonely,” she said.
“Not for long. How’s the house coming?”
“The carpets are all down.”
“No hassles?”
“Not until the bill arrives,” she said.
“Painters? ”
“Been and gone.”
“Then you just have the furniture deliveries to worry about,” he said.
“I can’t wait for our bedroom suite to get here.”
“Every bride’s greatest concern,” he said.
“That’s not what I mean, sexist. It’s just that this damn sleeping bag
gives me a backache.”
He laughed.
“And,” she said, “have you ever tried camping out in the middle of an
empty, lushly carpeted twenty-by-twenty master bedroom? It’s eerie.”
“Maybe we should have all flown out,” Alex said. “Maybe a furnitureless
house would be easier to endure if you had company.”
“No,” she said. “I’m okay. I just like to gripe. How are you and
Colin getting along? “Famously,” he said, watching Colin as the boy
pushed his glasses up on his pug nose.
“What about this guy following you in the Automover?” she asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“One of Colin’s games?”
“That’s all, he assured her.
“Hey, did he really take you for a dollar?”
“He really did. He’s a sneaky kid. He’s a lot like you.”
Colin laughed.
“How’s the car handling?” Courtney asked.
“Is six hundred miles a day too much for you, by yourself?”
“Not at all,” he said. “My back’s probably not aching as much as yours.
We’ll be able to stay right on schedule.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I’m a little bit of a sexist myself-and
I can’t wait to get you in that new bed.”
“Likewise,” he said, smiling.
“I’ve had several nights to appreciate the view from this damn bedroom
window,” she said. “It’s even more spectacular tonight than it was last
night. You can see the city lights on the bay, all distorted and
glimmering.”
“I’m homesick for a home I’ve never slept in,” Doyle said. He was also
lovesick, and he was made more feverish by the sound of her voice.
“I love you,” she said.
“Likewise.”
Say it.”
“I’ve got an audience,” Doyle said, looking at Colin. The boy was
listening, rapt, as if he could hear both sides of the conversation.
“Colin won’t be embarrassed by that,” she said. “Love doesn’t embarrass
him at all.”
“Okay,” he said. “I love you.”
Colin grinned and hugged himself.
“Call tomorrow night.”
“As scheduled,” he promised.
“Say goodnight to Colin for me.”
“I will.”
“Goodbye, darling.”
“Goodbye, Courtney.”
He missed her so profoundly that breaking the connection was a little
bit like drawing a sharp knife across his own flesh.
When George Leland pulled the rented Chevrolet van into the macadamed
lot in front of the Lazy Time Motel the No VACANCY Sign was on, large
green’neon letters. He was not disturbed by that, for he had never
intended to stay there. He was not as flush as Alex Doyle, not as
lucky; he was unable to afford even the Lazy Time’s prices. He just
drove slowly along the short arm of the L, then down the long branch
until he saw the Thunderbird.
He smiled, satisfied with himself. “Just like in the address book,” he
said. “Doyle, you’re nothing if not efficient.”
He drove away from the Lazy Time, then, before he might be seen.
He went on down the road, past two dozen other motels, some of them like
the Lazy Time and some much fancier. At last he came to a shabby wooden
motel with a small vacancy sign out front and a spare, undecorated neon
sign at the entrance: DREAMLAND. It looked like an eight dollar-a-night
dive. He drove in and parked near the office.
He rolled down the window and turned the rear-view mirror so that he
could get a look at himself. As he took his comb from his pocket, he