"You don't have to see me. I look the same as always." He had not intended speaking so harshly. It had slipped out. He recalled what the old man had told him about the twenty thousand dollars, how these women had taken him down the line, cheating him by lying to him constantly. He fought to gain control over his feelings, but the more he thought about it the more annoyed he became. Finally, he sat up on the bed, threw his feet off it; a moment later he stood up.
"What are you doing, John?" she whispered.
"I'm gonna get a drink."
He stumbled in the darkness to the doorway.
"Come back, darling. You can have a drink later," she begged.
But he kept going. He had to get away from her for the moment. He had a wild feeling running through him that he could not understand.
He went down the s
