21.
"Why
do you love me so much?" Beth asked George once, and he was so irritated
by the question that he was tempted to pretend he hadn’t heard. The question had so little to do with what
effect his love for her had on him; she was really just asking him to tell her
about herself. It was so selfish. But oh, how could he not give in to this
request. It was the innocence at
the base of her selfishness that was one of the most irresistible things about
her.
"Oh Beth, he replied, "I don't know, you're just special," and then what he'd never actually said to her before, "I really do love you."
Now, he brought the bedside phone
into the bathroom so as not to wake the three gently sighing sleepers in the
hotel room, and he dialed Beth's home number, just in case. No answer.
