Free The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe Page A

take.
    The first indication Caroline had was a furtive bony hand touching her knee. The face and voice of Mr. Shalimar, above the table, were so self-assured and so much The Boss that for a moment she had the wild thought that the hand investigating her leg belonged to someone under the table. It hardly even seemed to be connected to Mr. Shalimar's arm and shoulder. Then she caught the thickening of his speech, and he leaned toward her, looking into her face.
    "Mike, did you ever notice what a beautiful girl this is?" he said.
    His husky voice terrified her. She moved away from his hand, upsetting her glass in the process.
    "Oops," Mike said pleasantly. He righted the glass and began to

    mop oflF Caroline's skirt with his handkerchief. There was nothing personal in his touch, for which she was grateful. "Miss!" He beckoned to the waitress. "Miss!"
    The waitress hurried over with a handful of cloth napkins. Mr. Shalimar seemed oblivious of the entire crisis; he continued to talk, more mistily now, about how lovely Caroline's face was. April began to look confused. She looked up suddenly at Mr. Shalimar with a glance that carried mingled horror and delight. He must have decided to try her knee, Caroline thought, and instantly was taken with a fit of the giggles. She excused herself hurriedly and ran to the ladies' room.
    April came in a moment after she had achieved her refuge. "Oh, Caroline, are you all right?"
    "Are you all right?" Caroline was doubled over, laughing until tears came into her eyes. It wasn't that anything that had happened was so funny, really, it was just that she was so glad to be able to laugh at it all when for nearly four hours she had been tense and nervous.
    "I thought you were sick," April said worriedly.
    "No, I'm fine. Do you think we can get away now and eat dinner?"
    "I was thinking . . . maybe they would buy us dinner? Do you think they might?"
    "You want to eat with them?"
    "Well, neither of us has any money to speak of. It would certainly help for the rest of the week if they bought our dinner tonight."
    *^e could go back and say we're hungry, and see what develops."
    "Would you mind?" April asked.
    "No ... I don't mind." She powdered her nose and put on fresh lipstick. "I can stand it if you can."
    April turned around to look at her, smprised. "You're laughing at him, aren't you!"
    "Well, you must admit he was funny."
    "Funny? What was fimny? I think he's the most fascinating person I ever met."
    "You do?" Caroline said dubiously.
    "But the life he's led . . . the people he knows! I could listen to him talk all night."
    Caroline couldn't resist saying it. "And he'll let you, too, as long as your leg holds out"

    April's face turned a deep pink. "Oh, my heavens . . ." she said. She covered her face with her hands.
    Caroline put her arm around April. "He's a little plastered, that's all. Just you never mention it and he'll never mention it."
    April smiled, a bit ruefully. "I was hoping you and I could have dinner alone together. There are so many things I'd like to talk to you about. I was hoping we could get to know each other better."
    "We will."
    "Do you have to go back to the country tonight? Maybe you could stay over at my house."
    With the Scotch she had drunk Caroline felt warm and happy and fond of the whole world. "I think that would be fun," she said. She had never seen the apartment of a working girl who lived alone in New York, but from the fashion magazines she had read she had her own ideas of it, and already the image arose of herself and April chatting cozily until four in the morning in a small, austere but romantically chic apartment, the kind she would like to have someday soon.
    "It's kind of a dump," April said, "but I love it."
    "I'd love to see it. Come on, out to the wolves." They left the ladies' room and found their way back to their corner table. Mike Rice was sitting there alone.
    "Mr. Shalimar had to go home," he said.
    "Oh, what a shame," said April. "We didn't even