Free The Good Life by Gordon Merrick

it.” He lit the cigarette for himself, and they talked about the trip.
    They were going to stay first for a week in London and then go by train to the south of France and Saint-Tropez. They would have a week in Paris on the way home.
    â€œI’m particularly pleased for Bet that you’ll be there. I’m always afraid she’ll get bored with Daddy and his older friends. I confess there have been some much younger ones, but that can be awkward. She’ll be delighted with you. You can take her dancing and flirt with her a little. She’ll be thrilled. I think we have time for a little freshener, don’t you? We should go about 8. I’ve booked in the back room, of course.”
    Perry was feeling a bit giddy, but that could be as much from the prospects that were unfolding before him as from the drink. Billy could really knock it back.
    He had lost track of the fresheners when Billy said it was time to go. Billy seemed as fresh and precise as he had when he’d greeted Perry at the door.
    Perry had left his little waterproof bag of toilet articles in the hall. “You do expect me to spend the night, don’t you?” he asked.
    â€œOf course. Tonight and every night from now on.” Billy put on a jaunty Panama hat and held the door open for him.
    The thought of being introduced to “21” sobered Perry, and by the time the taxi delivered them in front of the elaborate ironwork gates on West 52nd Street, he felt as if he hadn’t had a drink all evening. As they went in, the sight of the magical numbers worked into the scrollwork gave him a little thrill.
    They entered a rather cramped vestibule and were greeted by a sleek-looking man in a stylish business suit.
    â€œStill with us a little longer, Billy?” the man asked.
    â€œAnother few weeks.” Billy introduced Perry, and they shook hands. “Take care of Mr. Langham when he comes in, Jack. He’s a particular friend of mine. You may be seeing a lot of him.”
    â€œI’ll make note of it, Billy. We always do our best for your friends. I think we have something rather good for you tonight.”
    Perry and Jack nodded amiably at each other as a man in a tailcoat approached to take charge. He greeted Billy more obsequiously as “Mr. Vernon” and led them through a large, crowded room. Everything looked more old-fashioned and unpretentious than Perry expected in a ritzy restaurant.
    â€œThat chap we just spoke to, that’s Jack of the famous Jack and Charlie. That’s what everybody called this place when it was a speakeasy.” Billy spoke to somebody at a big table that they passed without stopping. “That’s Marlene Dietrich.”
    Perry almost fell over his feet trying to look back, and then they were led into a smaller room and seated. Billy ordered drinks the minute they were handed big menus.
    â€œYou know Marlene Dietrich?” Perry asked.
    â€œQuite well. She’s not an intimate. As a matter of fact, I was with her and some friends in Harlem several nights ago. When she feels like it, she can be a charmer. She’d feel like it with you. She has a healthy curiosity about chaps’ britches. Don’t worry. You’ll meet everybody sooner or later.”
    Perry ran his eyes over the prices printed on the menu. It looked as if the two of them could run up a bill of over ten dollars without even trying. He saw some desserts alone for more than two dollars.
    He loved the way Billy had introduced him at the door — he felt as if his name had been inscribed on an honor roll of the elite — but it didn’t seem likely that they’d be seeing him around a lot even with an allowance of fifty dollars a week. May be he could bring somebody on his own some time just to show that he knew his way around. Nothing more had been said about the allowance, so it was easy to believe that he’d invented it.
    Billy ordered more drinks before anything was