The phone rang several times, but I didn't answer. It wouldn't be Candy's boyfriend. He knew her schedule, and he'd be at work now in any case. It could only be Craig.
I'd stopped crying, but was still lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling when Candy came home from her shift.
"Well," she said as she passed my door, "you under the weather today? That must have been some night." From her own room, she shouted, "But Bernie got Lucille to come in to do your shift. She needs the money as much as you do."
Moments later, wearing just her bra and panties, she appeared at my door. "You're quiet all of a sudden. Everything okay? Craig problems?"
I started to sob again. "Yeah...Craig problems."
"You didn't break up already, did you? Was he really too good to be true?"
"He's a fucking pervert!"
She came and sat on the side of my bed. "Did he hurt you?" Her voice was gentle and motherly.
I shook my head. "No. Everything went perfectly. At the opera, he made me feel like a queen. I met and talked with all kinds of important people. RoseAnn Perez, the redneck girl from Bitumen, Illinois, making chitchat with lawyers and politicians! After, we went back to his apartment and made love, twice. And it was so late, I stayed over."
"I'm glad you stayed over. My boyfriend was happy, not having to be quiet for your sake. But I don't understand. You had a perfect date with a double scoop of sex on top, and here you are, bawling on your bed."
"He went down on me both times."
"Mmm," said Candy, raising her eyebrows. "How awful! No wonder your heart's broken. But tell me, is it contagious? Can my boyfriend catch it somehow?"
"It was wonderful, until I discovered that all he was doing was acting out some dirty pictures he got from Denmark or someplace. They were all about men going down on women or being tortured by women."
"Really? He told you that?"
I shook my head again. "No. I went snooping. Now I wish I hadn't. He doesn't want me after all. He just wants a cunt to shove his face against while he thinks about those pictures. I should have stayed with Mike!"
Candy was silent. She slipped onto the bed and lay beside me with her lips close to my ear, and took my wrist in her hand. She whispered, "And because of some pictures, Craig is worse than the man who made you suck his cock every day for four years? And never once tried to make it good for you?"
Having dumped my heart onto Candy, I was able to stop sobbing, and wiped my face with my free hand. "Well, maybe not as bad as Mike. But I feel all dirty inside. I feel used."
"I think the girl needs some perspective here. Tell me if I've got the story straight: An attractive man pursues you for weeks, dresses you up like a fashion model, takes you to meet his friends and important people, and then makes unselfish love to you. And let me guessβyou were floating on Cloud Nine this morning until you decided to go snooping. Does that just about sum it up?"
She reached to my face and blotted a stray tear with a finger, but I said nothing.