She had been in the kitchen starting dinner. The kitchen was separated from the other room by a low partition and she could talk to Arch and Jack while she skinned the potatoes. Jack was sitting on the studio couch with his long legs stretched out in front of him and a highball in his hand, and he and Arch were talking about the job.
Then, after a silence, Marian heard Jack say, “Well, I’m thinking about getting married, Arch.” He said it casually, and she craned her neck to see him.
“What’s that, Jack?” she called.
He flushed and turned toward her and repeated the words.
“Good move,” Arch said. “Who’s the girl?” He was sitting stiffly in a straight chair, with his arms folded and his legs crossed.
“Gene Geary,” Jack said. “She works down at the H. and G. office.”
“Did you ask her yet?” Marian said. She peeled two onions and began slicing them into the pan with the potatoes. Her eyes were watering and she brushed a strand of hair back from her forehead. “Did you ask her yet, Jack?”
“Yeah, she’s thinking it over.”
“Well, don’t worry about it,” Arch said. “They always do that.” Marian made a face at him when he came out into the kitchen to get the bottle.
“I wondered if Arch would mind being best man,” Jack said in an embarrassed voice. “See, I haven’t been here very long and…”
“Of course he wouldn’t mind. He’d be happy to. Am I invited too, Jack?”
“Sure. Well…I don’t know if she’s going to or not.”
“Of course she will,” Marian said. “A big good-looking boy like you.” It was hot in front of the stove, her face was hot, and she felt a little tight.
“When’ll it be?” she heard Arch say.
“Right away, I guess.”
“What’s she like, Jack?” Marian called.
“Oh, she’s little. She’s got brown hair.”
Marian wondered if this girl were a virgin; probably not. None of these girls were nowadays. Probably Jack had attended to that already. She felt a sudden, jealous dislike for this girl, and she stepped to the door to watch Jack, who was moving his glass from side to side, studying the flat tilt of the liquor. She saw that Arch was drinking with great ceremony, and she knew he was a little tight too.
Jack raised his head and grinned at her. “Smells good,” he said.
“It’ll be ready in a minute,” Marian said, and then she said, “So you’re going to get married.”
Jack grinned again and looked down at his glass. Arch started to tell the story about how he and his best man had both dropped the ring at their wedding, and Marian picked up an overloaded ashtray and took it back to the kitchen.
Jack helped her to her chair when she called them to the table, and she thanked him and looked reprovingly at Arch. But Arch was shaking his head and blinking his eyes, and she smiled. She saw that they were waiting for her and she picked up her fork.
“Is your girl pretty?” she said to Jack.
“Sure, she’s pretty,” Arch said. “I’ve seen her down at the office. She’s a good-looking girl. Jack’s lucky to get her.”
“Well, it’s about time you got married. Arch and me were married when we were twenty. Fifteen years now.”
“How about eating, hon?” Arch said.
Marian didn’t pay any attention to him. “How is it you never got married before this?” she asked. “Now, don’t try and tell me you never went in for girls much.”
“Jack’s played it smart, that’s all,” Arch said.
“Now you stop those snotty cracks, Arch Huber!”
“I just never got around to it,” Jack said.
“Well, I think those girls up in Bakersfield missed a good thing. The girls in Glenwood wouldn’t’ve let you get away this long. Would they, Arch?”
“How about eating?” Arch said.
Jack didn’t say anything, rubbing his hand over his chin. His slanting yellow eyes were narrowed and insolent. Marian felt herself grow a little more sober, and she frowned and looked at Arch, who was cutting his steak. “Eat your steaks now,” she said. “Before they get cold.”
When Jack was gone Arch unfolded the couch, got the bedclothes from the closet and made it up, while Marian stacked the dishes. When they were undressed and in bed he set the alarm, kissed her, sighed and turned away, drawing his knees up toward his chest as he always did. Marian slid her arm under his neck so she could jiggle him if he tried to go to sleep.
“He’s a nice boy, Arch,” she said. “Don’t you think so? Is he a good cat skinner?”
“Yeah, he’s all right.”
“He’s terribly attractive.”
Arch grunted.
Marian giggled and worked her arm up and down under his neck. “He’s got that something women like,” she said. “Those eyes and those big shoulders and those little-bitty hips, and when he looks at you sometimes you know you ought to slap him but you don’t really want to.”
“I wonder why he hasn’t got married till now, Arch?”
“If they all feel about him the way you do, he didn’t ever need to.”
She punched him in the ribs and jerked her arm up and down. Arch turned over quickly, pushed her arm away and began tickling her. She giggled, finally gasping for breath. “Stop!” she gasped. “You stop it, Arch Huber!” He stopped, turned over again and hunched up his shoulder when she tried to get her arm back under his neck.
“Great,” he said. “You’re ready to run off with the first good-looking skinner comes along. After fifteen years.”
“Oh, Arch!” she said, thinking about Jack Ward. She wondered what he was like, but then Arch started to breathe regularly and she punched him in the ribs again.
“Go to sleep,” he said. “Sleep now.”
She smiled at the back of his head. She loved him, and though he never said so anymore, she knew how much he loved her; he would be lost and helpless as a child without her. She supposed some people might think they weren’t much, but they were happy, and they couldn’t get along without each other. She supposed their life was nothing very special, but it was the way they wanted it, and she doubted if there were many who could say as much. They both knew what they were, and, content with that, didn’t pretend to be anything else. She smiled at the back of Arch’s head. “Arch,” she said. “Remember that time we were coming back from Rosarita Beach?”
He chuckled sleepily.
“Remember, Arch?”
He put his hand around and patted her hip. She smiled at the back of his head and ran her hand over his thinning hair.
“Come on, Marian,” he said. “I’ve got to get to sleep. I’ll be knocking grade stakes all over hell tomorrow.”
He never did seem to know, and she could never bring herself to ask him. She sighed and said, “Arch, is this girl nice?”
“Sure, she’s nice. Sleep! Sleep now!”
“Does she have any other boy friends?”
“She used to go around with Charley Long, I think.”
“Who’s Charley Long? Do I know him?”
“Surveyor boss.”
“Is he attractive?”
“He’s three foot tall and he’s got four arms and only one leg and a glass eye and a purple goatee and a dose and…”
Marian punched him in the ribs. “I asked you a civil question.”
“Oh, hell, damn it. He’s a pretty good-looking guy about our age. He’s got a good job and he makes a lot of money. Okay?”
“But he’s not as attractive as Jack, is he?”
“Christ, I don’t know, hon. Sleep! Sleep! Sleep!”
She snuggled up close to him. “I hope he’s marrying the right kind of girl, Arch. It would be too bad if he didn’t; if she can’t handle him right. You’ve really got to know, with…”
“Gene’s okay,” he interrupted. “She’s all right. For God’s sake, let’s go to sleep, Marian. I’ve got to get up at six!”
She didn’t say anything more, smiling at the back of his head in the pale light that came through the window from the street lamp on the corner. She yawned, pushing down on her thighs with her hands and stretching her shoulders deliciously. Already Arch was asleep and he would be snoring soon. She pressed herself against his back, curving her body and legs to fit his.