Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen: Noelle and Catherine

For whatever reason, time had become Catherine's enemy.At first she did not perceive it; and later, looking back, she could not tell the exact moment when time began to turn against her, nor did she realize when, why, and why Larry's love for her had disappeared. How to disappear, but one day, then all of a sudden, love is lost in the long river of time.All that remains are chilling, ethereal echoes. Catherine sat alone at home day after day, guessing and searching for what was going on, what was wrong.She couldn't think of anything in particular that could be called a cause, nor could she think of a single revealing moment she could point to and say, "That's it, that's the specific reason why Larry doesn't love me." time."

Once, when Constantine Demiris was traveling in Africa, Larry flew him there, and they stayed in Africa for three weeks.Maybe it just started after Larry got back from Africa.During these three weeks Catherine had been thinking about Larry more than she could have imagined.He's always away—she thought, like it's wartime, but this time there's no enemy. But she was wrong, there was an enemy lurking. "I have some good news I haven't told you yet," said Larry. "I got a raise. Seven hundred dollars a month. What do you think?" "Great," she replied, "we can get home early." She saw the tension in his face. "What's the matter?"

"This is home," Larry replied, curtly. She stared at him inexplicably. "Oh, that's about it now," she agreed reluctantly, "but what I mean is—you don't want to live here all your life." "You've never had such a good life," Larry retorted. "It's like being on vacation at a sanatorium." "But it's not the same as living in America, is it?" "America, fuck off," Larry said. "I risked my life for four years for America, and what did America give me? A handful of worthless medals. The war is over, and even Don't give me a job."

"It's not true," she said, "You..." "Me what?" Catherine didn't want to start an argument, especially on this first night of his return. "It's nothing, dear," she said. "You're tired, let's go to bed early." "Slow." He walked to the pantry and poured a glass of wine. "There's a new show coming up at the Argentinian nightclub. I've spoken to Paul Mitaxas and we're going with him and some friends." Catherine looked at him. "Larry—" she tried to keep her voice from getting too excited, "Larry, we haven't seen each other in almost a month. We haven't had a chance to— come and sit and talk .”

"I'm always out at work, what can I do," he replied, "Don't you think I don't like being around you?" She shook her head and said, "I can't tell. I'll have to ask." He put his arms around her waist, and smiled innocently and childlike with his teeth bared: "Forget about Mitaksas and that group. We won't go out tonight, just you and me, okay?" Catherine studied the expression on his face and realized that she herself was being unreasonable.If work required him to leave her, of course he couldn't help it.Moreover, it was only natural that he would go to see other people after he returned home.

"Let's go out together if you like," she said firmly. "Mmm-mm." He held her tighter, "Just the two of us." They stayed at home all weekend.Catherine cooked and cooked, and they sat in front of the fire talking, playing cards, reading papers, reading novels—that was all Catherine wanted. On Sunday night Larry had a delicious dinner prepared by Catherine.Catherine went to bed first.She was lying on the bed, watching him go to the bathroom in his shorts, thinking what a handsome man he was, how lucky I was, he belonged to me.She could not help showing a happy smile on her face.

While her smile was still there, Larry said casually at the bathroom door, "Book more dates next week, okay, so we won't stick to each other like this because we have nothing to do." After he finished speaking, he closed the bathroom door.At this time, the smile on Catherine's face froze. ※※※ Maybe the problem has something to do with that pretty Greek flight attendant, Helena. It was summer, and Catherine went shopping on a hot afternoon.Larry is out of town.Anticipating his return the next day, she decides to surprise him with some of his favorite dishes. Just as she was about to leave the vegetable market with her hands full of food and groceries, a taxi passed by her.In the back seat sat Larry with his arm around a girl in a flight attendant's uniform.Catherine caught a brief glimpse of smiles on their faces.In a blink of an eye, the car turned a corner and was out of sight.

Catherine stood there dumbfounded, and when several little boys ran up to her, she realized that the bag of food and groceries had slipped from her numb hands to the ground.After the children helped Catherine pick up her things, she staggered home, numb. She had consoled herself by telling herself that what she saw in the taxi was not Larry but someone else who looked like him.But the fact is that there is no one in the world like Larry.He is unique, a masterpiece of God, a priceless creation of nature.He is all hers.Hers, and the brunette in the taxi, and who knows how many other women? Catherine stayed up all night waiting for Larry to come back.By the time the East turned pale, Larry still hadn't come back.

At this moment, she understood that he had no excuse to justify to her, no excuse to keep the relationship between husband and wife.At the same time, she has no excuse to forgive herself.He was a liar, a liar; she could no longer be his wife. Larry didn't come home until three or four o'clock the next afternoon. "Hey," said Larry, looking cheerful as he entered the suite.After he put down the flight bag, he saw her face. "What happened?" "When did you return to the city?" Catherine asked stiffly. Larry looked at her, puzzled. "About an hour ago. What's the matter?"

"I saw you in a taxi with a girl yesterday." He was so dishonest in broad daylight—thought Catherine—that his words would end her as a wife.If he denies it again, I will say that he is a liar, break up with him, and never want to see him again. Larry stood there watching her. "Say it," she said. "Say it's not you." Still looking at her, Larry nodded and said, "Of course it's me." Catherine felt a sharp pain in her heart and nearly fell down.How she wished he had denied it. "Jesus," he said, "what were you thinking?"

"I—" Catherine was speechless angrily. Larry held up a hand. "Don't say things you'll regret." Catherine looked at him too, suspiciously. "Am I going to regret it?" "Yesterday I flew back to Athens for fifteen minutes to pick up a girl named Helena Meireris to Crete for Demiris. Helena works for Demiris, the flight attendant. " "But..." This is possible.Maybe Larry was telling the truth, or maybe he was an all-round guy, ready for new tricks and tricks? "Then why didn't you call me?" Catherine asked. "I called," said Larry curtly, "and no one answered. You were out, weren't you?" Catherine swallowed. "I—I'm going out to do the shopping and make you dinner." "I'm not hungry," Larry said rough-throat, "I don't have the appetite to eat when we quarrel." After Larry finished speaking, he turned and walked out the door, while Catherine stood where she was, her right hand still raised, As if silently begging him to come back. ※※※ Shortly after this feud, Catherine started drinking.In the beginning, drink small amounts first, there is not much harm.She used to look forward to Larry coming home for supper at seven, and if he was nowhere to be seen by nine she would pass the time with a little brandy.By about ten o'clock there are usually several glasses of brandy down.By the time he came back, (if he came back) the dinner dishes would be out of shape and she'd be a little drunk.In this way, it will be easier to face everything that happens in life. Catherine could no longer believe that Larry hadn't been cheating on her all along, and he had probably been cheating on her since they were married.In this regard, she has lost the ability to turn a blind eye and deceive herself. One day, before he took his clothes to the laundry, she found a lady's lipstick on his shirt and a lady's lace handkerchief in his uniform pocket. She pictured Larry lying in the arms of other women.She really wanted to kill him.

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