chapter 35

But every time he looked at me, I had to pretend to be looking at the advertisement above his head. When we arrived at the station, he was next to me, and his white shirt

front pressed against my arm—and so I told him I'd have to call a policeman, but he knew I was lying. I was so excited that when I got into a taxi with him, I hardly realized I

wasn't getting into a subway train. All I kept thinking was, 'You can't live forever, you can't live forever.'" 

She turned to Mrs. McKee, and the room was filled with her

 artificial laughter. 

"My dear," she cried, "I'm going to give you this dress as soon as I'm finished with it. I've

got to get another one tomorrow. I'm going to make a list of all the things I need to buy: a massage, a wave, a collar for the dog, one of those cute little ashtrays where you

touch a spring, and a wreath with a black silk bow for my mother's grave that will last all summer. I need to write down a list so I won't forget everything I have to do." 

It was nine o'clock—almost immediately afterward, I checked my watch and found it was ten. Mr. McKee was asleep on a chair with his fists clenched in his lap, like a

photograph of a man of action. Taking out my handkerchief, I wiped the remaining spot of dried lather from his cheek that had bothered me all afternoon. 

The little dog was sitting on the table, looking with blind eyes through the smoke and

occasionally groaning faintly. People vanished and reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost and found each other a few feet away. Around midnight, Max 

Caldwell and Mrs. Foster stood face to face, arguing passionately about whether Mrs. Foster had any right to mention Lily's name. 

"Lily! Lily! Lily!" shouted Mrs. Foster. "I'll say it whenever I want to! Lily! Lily—"