第39部分(第7/7 頁)

passed；　then　another；　and　the　enormity　of　the　day's　happenings

sank　in。　Mitch　had　deceived　her。　Oh；　it　might　have　started　innocently

enough　in　September；　but　in　time　she　had　mentioned　the　crash；　even　its

date；　and　the　uping　trial。　He　might　have　spoken　up　then。　He　might

have　spoken　up　last　night。

She　held　her　stomach　tightly。　If　only　she　could　cry。　If　only　she　could

scream。　Instead　she　felt　drained；　heartbroken；　half　whole。

The　telephone　rang　again。　She　tried　to　ignore　it　under　a　layer　of

pillows。　When　it　kept　up；　she　realized　that　if　it　was　her　mother　again

and　she　didn't　answer；　the　woman　would　be　on　at　her　door　in　no　time

flat。

With　an　effort；　she　dragged　herself　from　the　sofa　and　went　to　the　wall

phone　in　the　kitchen。　〃Hello？〃

〃Anne？〃　His　voice　was　deep　and；　in　spite　of　everything；　dear。

Stunned；　she　quietly　hung　up　the　phone。　Wobbly　legs　took　her　back　to　the

sofa。　She　doubled　over　there；　hugged　her　knees　to　her　chest；　and　waited

for　him　to　call　again。　In　a　matter　of　seconds；　the　phone　began　to　ring。

She　let　it　ring　and　ring　and　ring。　She　rocked　back　and　forth；　suffering

with　the　sound。　She　tried　covering　her　ears　with　her　hands；　but　the

ringing　seemed　to　grow　louder　and　louder；　more　and　more　harsh；　crueler

and　crueler。

At　last；　it　ceased。　Only　then　did　she　break　down　and　weep。

The　days　that　followed　were　pure　hell　for　Anne。　After　tears；　came

selfrecrimination。　She　had　been　naive；　sh