Scobie was gazing meditatively from the living room window of Twinkie's house as he listened to the generic sounds of televised football behind him. Suddenly he called out, "Here she comes, running before the wind, victory flags flying, guns still warm, every sail set to catch the breeze, her pirate prize in tow."

"What's that, Scobie?" said Liz, joining him. She saw Theresa leading Hugh up the drive, laughing and talking back at him, careless of the world. "Oh my God," she called to Rose, who was sitting on the couch between Dennis and Charles, "Hugh's in love again. Will it never end?"

"Maybe this time it's a two-way street," said Rose.

"For her sake, I hope not," said Liz. "But I'm afraid it is."

"What's that about Hugh?" said Clytie Bedford, ambling into the living room.

"Hugh and Theresa finally arrived," said Liz as the doorbell rang.

"Theresa?" said Clytie; then as Liz admitted a smiling Theresa, flushed with happiness, "Oh."

As Hugh stepped into the room, scarcely less cheerful, Clytie minced across the room, cried "Hugh!" then thrust her arm through his, and reached up to give him a wifely peck on the cheek. "We thought you'd never get here. Wouldn't you like some Thanksgiving, darling?" Hugh and Theresa locked their gaze, a single being communing in the depths of space at the speed of light. A common smile winked through their eyes.

"Why Clytie, aren't you a dear," said Hugh. "But we've already eaten." He disengaged his arm and turned to Liz. "We did remember to bring the card for everybody to sign." Theresa reached into her handbag and brought forth a white envelope.

"Card?" said Clytie. "We all already signed a card."

"Rose and I took care of it," said Liz. "Who knew when we'd see you two again, or if? Here, let me see. 'This Thanksgiving... 'I'm thankful for you,' changed to 'We're thankful.' 'Theresa and Hugh.'"

"It was the closest thing we could find to a fit," said Hugh.

"Well, I'm sure Twinkie will be glad to have another card," said Liz.

"Chilled to perfection," said Scobie.

"Wine!" said Hugh. "I left the wine in the car." He turned to go.

"Hugh," said Liz, "that's not a good idea. Twinkie told us at lunch, she just celebrated three years' sobriety in AA. Passed her Three Years Coin around the table, the whole bit."

"Geez," said Hugh. "I didn't know."

"Nobody did," said Liz.

"It's just a bottle of port," said Hugh. "to go with desert."

"That's not the point," said Liz.

"I could sure as hell use a drink," said Clytie.

"And you're not alone," said Scobie. "Let me check this out with the hostess."

"You know Rose is in AA, too," said Liz as Scobie left.

"Oh well, I was planning to force her to drink the entire quart," said Hugh, "just because the thought of getting Rose loaded excites me." Clytie giggled.

"Do you really think that's funny, Hugh?" said Liz.

"Liz," said Theresa. "Is there a room where I can put my coat and handbag? Good. Why don't you take me there and show me."

"Certainly!" snapped Liz.

"Why?" said Clytie to their departing backs. "It's the middle bedroom right over there." She turned back to Hugh. "Well, is she better'n me?"

"Buh, Better?"

"In the sack?"

"Good Lord, Clytie, I'm not doing comparison shopping."

"You ain't been there yet?"

"Charles!" said Hugh over Clytie's head, "Who's playing?"

"Lions and Packers," said Charles. "Always. An' let me tell you: It's cold in Detroit."

"Who's winning?" said Hugh, giving Clytie a farewell pat on the shoulder and moving closer.

"We are," said Rose.

"Who's we?"

...

"All right, Liz," said Theresa, closing the bedroom door, "Why the dog in the manger?"

"What dog? What manger? What are you talking about?"

"You don't want Hugh, so nobody else should either? Listen, I had no idea Hugh and I would hit it off. I was just going stir-crazy and took it on a dare."

"Stir crazy? Oh, right, you fled to your head before you hit puberty. Theresa, Hugh hits it off with any woman who takes a mild interest in him."

"Here we go, again! 'I don't want him, so he's no good - or maybe I didn't want him until he took an interest in someone else, and since he did that, then he's really no good!'"

"Forget your amateur Freud, try mine: You chase Hugh until he catches you - that's all there is to Hugh. I knew I could do better. And so can you, so can any woman with an ounce of ambition, which you have! - Oh shit, you know what I mean. You don't go shopping for Cartier at Woolworths, you don't go looking for a man in a halfway house."

"Stop cheapening - Oh, I forgot, pardon me - The lawyer your parents could afford to get you out of a drug bust on an insanity plea, the private hospital your parents could afford - You don't really belong here, you're visiting royalty, the Jewish American Princess slumming..."

"Do! Not! Do! That!" Liz sat on the bed and cradled her head in her hands. "Do not do that to us! To our Friendship!"

"Oh, Liz, I'm sorry. I just had to get you out of my face." Theresa sat down next to Liz and embraced her shoulders.

"Oh dear God, you have no idea!"

"Liz, hey, look, it's just me." Theresa began rubbing Liz's back. "It's just that you've always reminded me of Ali MacGraw in Goodbye, Columbus. But with curly hair"

"I am not that stupid actress in that stupid, vicious movie."

"Vicious, yes; stupid no," said Theresa. 'And what have you been doing this summer, Brenda?' - 'Growing a penis.' That was a great line. And the way she just kind of tossed it over her shoulder..." Liz managed a woeful laugh, and Theresa continued. "I mean, that was pretty classy. She really did have class, you know. And if the guy hadn't been such an intellectual snob..."

"Yeah, he was a jerk."

"Defensive jerk."

"Who was going to be a writer when he grew up."

"What was his name? I forgot." They were both laughing now. Theresa removed her coat and threw it on top of the others. Hands linked, they lay back and stared together at the ceiling.

"Liz, he kissed me and just sat down, thump."

"I don't get it."

"Neither did I. Neither did he, it turned out. He took me in his arms - We were out at White rock on one of those piers. You know how it is, you're holding hands, then arms go around waists - all this time you're talking about something neither of you's paying any attention to - both pivot, and, Okay here it comes, first real kiss, and you're both thinking this has got to be done right, this has got to be perfect, and, Hey we're both pretty good at this - Plop! Suddenly there's Hugh sitting on the pier, looking up at me.

"Hugh went plop."

"Hugh went plop. 'Are you okay?' 'Yeah. No. I dunno. Care to join me? I think I'm going to be here a while.'"

"Dope. He was smoking dope, wasn't he?"

"Some, yeah. You think that was it?" Liz nodded. "Anyway, I sat down, and we just looked at each other for a while. Then he said, 'I'm scared shitless. I'm not supposed to feel this way."

"Oh, gawd."

"Excuse me?"

"No, I'm sorry, go ahead."

"Liz."

"Okay, I'm sorry, but this is sounding so like Hugh. With me the pillow talk was, 'Let me tell you how crazy I was. Like everybody else in academia, I thought the FBI was keeping a file on me, blah-blah-blah.' Talk about scared shitless - the next morning, right? after I'd slept on it, after a solitary cup of coffee - but not while Hugh was spinning his yarn, of course. Theresa, Hugh is a bullshit artist."

"He's good with words, he's going to be a writer when he grows up - I thought we covered that."

"Theresa, the man is glib. No, he doesn't mean to be, he just is. And look what he did to Clytie. Where is the man's conscience?"

"You're worried about Clytie, a woman who has survival skills you and I don't even want to think about having? And as for conscience, from a woman who converted to get her Baptist mother-in-law off her back, and then divorced her husband the minute he went to jail, forgive me if I don't hear the pot complaining about the kettle."

"It was an agreement, it was a practical arrangement. My husband was looking at twenty years, and he didn't expect me to stay celebate, he didn't know how he was going to feel after twenty years, himself. God dammit, my husband was a decent man!"

"Liz..."

"No, listen! As for my mother-in-law boring me numb with Bible quotes, I decided that because it was so important to her I would convert, because she was the mother of the man I loved, and because - Get down to it, Tereresa - people are one hell of a lot more important than religion."

"This is not anything like the way you presented it before, but Liz..."

"You never cut me before."

"Liz: 'God dammit your husband was a decent man?' God dammit, Hugh is a decent man! Now stop trying to convince yourself, or me - or most of all him - that he's not. You know better. I'm sorry he told you the truth about himself and it scared you. Now let it pass."

They realized their hands were still linked, and gave one another a companionable squeeze.

"You love the son of a bitch."

"Not yet, not really. You know what Twinkie says - Love's a choice, in love's a disease - and I'm scared shitless, too. But I'm going to try."

"Oh, Lord, I am going to be so damn lonely. First Rose, now you."

"Nonsense, you and I have never been closer.... Rose?"

"You were so busy enjoying your little pink cloud you didn't see Rose snuggled up with Dennis, warming his knee with her hand, pretending to care about football. They went to church together, Dennis got religion, Rose got Dennis - for whatever that combination package is worth - and I'm the only hen in the house not sitting on an egg."

***