Myra-Breckinridge-Gore-Vidal

nothing, and I got angry and then he said maybe I'd bettergo back to the dorm and not spend the night with him. Hesaid he was..." she paused, tears beginning, "sick of me,sick of women, and wanted just to go off by himself.... "Sickof you or of women in general?" This was a key point. "Idon't know exactly what he said, I was so upset. Both, Iguess." Apparently I had done my work better than Iexpected. "On top of that, he said he was feeling lousy andhe'd pulled a muscle or something and it hurt him to sitdown oh, I don't know, he was just awful. But then I told himabout the date I'd made for him, and that cheered him up abit." "What date?" "You won't be mad at me?" She lookedso frightened, young, vulnerable that I wanted to hold her inmy arms. "Of course not, dear." I was Janet Gaynor. "I couldnever be angry with you." "You are a friend." She gave mea dim watery smile. "Well, I had got us both invited to LetitiaVan Allen's home at Malibu, in the Colony." I sat up straight.I have never been invited to Letitia's house but then ofcourse I have yet to be of any use to her as a purveyor ofstuds. Now poor Mary-Ann had fallen unwittingly intoLetitia's trap. "Just how did this invitation come about?""Well, I was in her office and we were talking about thisdate she'd made for me with that record company and then,I don't know, the conversation got around to Rusty and sheasked to see a picture of him, and I showed her the ones Ialways carry and she said he was very handsome and hadstar quality and I asked her if she wanted to meet him... oh, Iknow you didn't want him to talk to her until June... "It wouldhave been better after his closed-circuit TV performance.