When she came she had coffee with them—they were on their third cups—and
she listened quietly while Beth explained what she had been through with
Vega—and what Vega had been through with her, for she didn’t spare
herself or her faults.
She felt a slow, lovely enchantment going through her at the sight of
Beebo; just the sight of her tired, handsome face pleased her oddly in a
new and special way. She could not even fib to herself that it was
simple gratitude any more. It was too strong for that.
When Beebo asked her later if she could take her home Beth agreed
without thinking. But suddenly she had to admit, “I don’t really know
where I’m going. I don’t have a home.”
“Back to the hotel?” Beebo said.
“I guess so.”
“That’s no place for you at a time like this,” Beebo told her. “Come
home with me. It’s not luxurious but it’s a hell of a lot friendlier.”
“Thank you,” Beth said quietly, without even arguing. “I’d like to.”
They said goodbye to Laura with promises to call her soon and went down
together in the elevator. “It’s funny,” Beth said. “I was coming up in
this same elevator a couple of hours ago and wondering how I’d feel when
I went down again. Scared and ashamed, or just glad it was all over.”
“Which is it?” Beebo said, leaning against the wall of the elevator and
looking down at her.
“Neither,” Beth admitted, smiling.
“What, then?”
“I guess it’s closest to ... a sort of happiness,” she confessed shyly.
“Or hopefulness, maybe.”
Beebo touched her face gently with her hand, a gesture she had used once
before and that delighted Beth. “You’ve been through enough to whip
anybody,” Beebo said. “I don’t know if it’ll help to think of this, but
you know, a lot of strange things have been done in the name of love. In
the search for love. And for the love of women. Crazy, silly,
unreasonable things, some of them. You’ve just made a journey across the
continent to find yourself. But the real journey was into your own
heart. Isn’t that so?”
Beth nodded as the sliding doors opened, and they walked into the lobby.
Beebo pulled her aside and talked to her. “Let me finish,” she said. “I
want you to understand this. For the love of women I’ve made a fool of
myself, just like most of the men I know. And a lot of the girls. I’ve
suffered like an idiot. At least what you suffered had purpose and
reason to it. You’ve learned from it. I’ll tell you one thing,” she
added with twinkling eyes, “the silliest goddamn thing I ever did was
fall for a girl I hated for years.”
“Who was that?” Beth said.
“You.”
Beth dropped her gaze and a warm thrill suffused her. She could feel her
face turning pink and she didn’t mind at all. Perhaps it was real or
perhaps it was all a dream. She didn’t know or care. All she knew was
that Beebo was offering her a chance at happiness and she asked only
that chance. It might work out, it might not. But she had life and youth
and even courage now, and looking into Beebo’s fine, worn face she felt
a solid reassurance. Beebo’s eyes promised shelter, they promised love,
they promised that glorious undeserved chance at contentment that Beth
had no right to expect from fate. But there it was.
Beebo’s strong hands held her shoulders. “I understand, baby,” she said
softly. “I understand. If that makes any difference to you.”
“It does. All the difference in the world.”
They walked out of the lobby together, hand in hand.