The Good Life

by Gordon Merrick

Perry nodded.

  “All I ask is to wait a little longer. She’ll be twenty in a few months. That’s quite old enough for a girl to get married. I might be able to stop treating her like a child.”

  “We’ve no plans, Billy. We haven’t dared.”

  “Of course, when the time comes, I’ll give her my parental consent if that will make it easier for you both.”

  Billy was their greatest ally. Their only ally. What would they do without him? “You’re quite a guy, Mr. Vernon.”

  “I go on trying. I advise you to slip off and do it with as little fuss as possible before Arlene has a chance to draw her big guns. Does Bet know the whole truth? About me?”

  “I told her what the doctor told me. She’s very upset. She wants to see you.”

  “Try to persuade her to wait a bit. I’ll be out of here in a week or so. I loathe hospital visits. Depressing for everybody. I need a day or two to adopt the right style. It’s too easy to become gallant or heroic. I want to be quite matter-of-fact about a very tiresome reality of life. I know you’ll help me, my dearest. I want us to have a gay time as long as I’m able. It was clever of me to arrange for air-conditioning. You might check with Laszlo to make sure they’re getting on with it. There we are. I hope we don’t have to talk about it again.”

  “It’s a hell of a trick to play on me, Billy.”

  “I quite agree. I’ll have a few words to say to God when I get the chance.” He gripped Perry’s hand for a moment. “We’ve grown very fond of each other, haven’t we?”

  “God, Billy. I love you.” The words caught in his throat, and his eyes misted with tears.

  Laszlo had 66th Street in perfect order, the air-conditioning humming smoothly and effectively, and Billy was delighted with it. He hired a bustling little Filipino man called Jesus to help Laszlo. Jesus took over when Laszlo left in the afternoon. Jesus fixed dinner and spent the night. On his nights off Perry stayed over in his old room in case Billy needed him.

  “Be careful of your language, Perry,” Billy said. “You mention the Lord’s name in vain, and Jesus comes running. Terrifying. His hearing is extraordinary.”

  “The perfect watchdog,” Perry said.

  Billy rarely went out anymore. Occasionally he and Perry would go to the theater, but it tired him. He was at his best at home, playing cards or backgammon or just talking or quietly reading.

  “Jesus isn’t a bad cook,” Perry commented after one of his uninspired dinners.

  “No, but not good either. Can’t compare to the food on the Belle Époque. But then, so little does.” Billy sighed and smiled. “I wonder what will become of her? But we did have good times. Remember? Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a couple of pipes.”

  Billy was allowed to drink again, so why not opium? The doctor had said to let him do anything that gave him pleasure. Perry wondered aloud, “Why don’t we get some? Can you get it here?”

  “Here? Oh, dear. I’ve never tried. Too risky. And probably wildly expensive.”

  “Surely there is somebody who could get you some. Should I ask around?”

  “And get thrown in jail?”

  “You can’t go to jail for just asking a question. I could ask Johnny Jardine. He might know.”

  “It’s something I’ve never dared investigate here.”

  “I would,” Perry said confidently.

  “You’d go to jail for me?” Billy smiled at him.

  “Of course.” He sounded insulted. “I’d do anything for you, Billy. You know that.”

  Billy patted his hand. “You really are the dearest boy. But not that, please. Don’t go to jail for anybody.”

  Because of the drugs Billy was taking or possibly just because of his will and determination, he remained in relatively good shape throughout the summer and fall. Perry made a special effort to make his daily visits as festive as possible for Billy, and Billy’s buoyant spirit matched his efforts. Perry wondered if he were doing it all for his own benefit, but Laszlo assured him that Billy really did seem to be feeling better.

  Perry had a difficult time convincing Bet that they should not go see Billy together even though he was apparently reconciled to their getting married.

  “He is reconciled,” Perry explained, “but not adjusted to the idea, if that makes any sense. You go see him during the day while I’m at work. Have lunch with him when you can, and then I’ll take over in the evening while you’re out husband-hunting with Arlene.”

  “Oh, God, how I hate it. It’s such a waste of time. All those boring dinners. At least she doesn’t begrudge my visits to Daddy. Why don’t we just go ahead and get married? At least Daddy’s on our side.”

  “He said he wished we’d wait a bit. I think we owe him that.”

  “By waiting, you know what Mother is going to do, don’t you? Whisk me away in August.”

  “Oh, God. Here we go again. Lord knows I’m tempted, but I promised Billy. Besides, he has things he wants to work out with your grandmother. He knows what he’s doing. It won’t hurt us to let him choose the timing.”

  “You’re really very close, aren’t you? Really close friends?”

  “He’s my only friend. I love him.”

  “What about me,” she said, flinging herself into his arms.

  “I love you too much to be your friend.”

  “What a shitty thing to say.”

  “Where did you pick up that cute expression? Doesn’t sound a very debutante-on-the-marriage-market sort of word.”

  “If we have to wait much longer, this debutante is going to start using language that’ll curl your hair. I didn’t go to an exclusive girls’ school in Switzerland for nothing.”

  Perry hugged her, and they laughed.

  “No, seriously,” Bet went on. “It doesn’t hurt you. You’re on your own. Nobody’s trying to run your life. I’m sick of Mummy carrying me off whenever she feels like it. I’m sick of my damn gadget. I want us to have children when we want to. I’m ready to live together in a place of our own.”

  “What do you think I want? I adore you, sweetheart. Billy’s warned me about Arlene’s fireworks when she finds out.”

  “She can’t do anything,” Bet said. “She talked about stopping my money last year when she found out about my staying out all night, but I know that she can’t. The terms of the trust say clearly that I have full control of the income at twenty. It’s a little vague until then. The lawyers even say that I could probably break the trust entirely once I’m married.”

  “Please don’t, baby. Your mother would know and think I put you up to it. It’s better for it to stay the way it is.”

  “I don’t understand why she’s so dead set against you. I sometimes think she’s jealous.”

  “It’s simple. She doesn’t think I chose suitable parents.”

  The war was no longer relegated to the fringes of life. Despite Bet and Perry’s constant worrying about their separations and nerve-racking secret life as well as about Billy’s health, they were almost consumed by thoughts about the world’s health. With lend-lease and other oblique involvements, Roosevelt had edged the country closer to an overt alliance with England and France.

  In early December, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and the deed was done: The United States was at war.

  Timmy called and discussed the draft with Perry in more serious terms. Even Billy was worried about it.

  “I’ve had a rather bad morning,” Billy confessed when Perry dropped by for a drink. “I hadn’t heard the war news, so we can’t blame it on that. I’m deeply distressed about it for your sake. The draft will begin to operate in earnest now. I understand that married men will be taken later and men with children taken last. Men with medical disabilities will be rejected automatically. I guess that lets me out.”

  “Don’t be silly. We’ll both join up and wipe out the Nazis and the Japs in one fell swoop.”

  “I managed to miss the first war, and I don’t mind telling you that I’m not unhappy to miss this one. I’m
not sure just how much of a coward I am and am pleased not to have to put it to the test.”

  “I’m not absolutely positive that I’m ready to become cannon fodder myself,” Perry admitted.

  “Why should you? It’s idiotic.”

  “Shall I marry Bet and have a set of triplets as quickly as possible?”

  “Don’t be flip, dearest boy. This is serious.” He waved his empty glass at Perry. “Freshen this, will you please?” A grimace of pain crossed his face, and he pushed a fist into his abdomen.

  Perry grabbed the glass and squatted beside his chair. “What is it, Billy? Are you all right?”

  “Yes. Yes, it passes. Damn.” He took a deep breath and leaned back in the seat. “Just put more than usual of the best medicine in the world into that glass.”

  Perry splashed a double portion into it, and when he handed it back, Billy was smiling.

  “There. Thank you.” He took a long sip. “Better than what the doctor gives me. No, you don’t have to have triplets or even an eight-inch scar on your abdomen to avoid the draft. There are simpler ways.”

  “I’ve heard of shooting a hole in your foot.”

  “Less drastic than that. I’ve been on the phone with my lawyers all morning. One of the disabilities avoids the draft, and you don’t have to be a cripple. The lawyers tell me that homosexuality will count as one.”

  “One what.”

  “A disability. A medical or legal disability.” Billy looked pleased with himself. “Nothing to it.”

  “How do they decide if you’re a homosexual?” Perry asked with a chuckle, imagining all sorts of sexy demonstrations.

  “If you say you are, that’s enough.”

  “I could say I was, but I’ve never felt very homosexual.”

  “You know quite a bit about it,” Billy reminded him. “Have you talked to Bet about it? Homosexuality, not the draft.”

  “Enough. She knows I’ve had experiences. She’s more curious about it than shocked.”

  “How much does she know about me?” Billy demanded.

  “I honestly don’t know,” Perry said. “I’ve often wondered. You know how people are, Billy. They know what they want to know. I gather that at that school of hers she learned a lot of things — and not all of it from books. She seems to think that it’s something that lots of men go in for.”

  “You and me?”

  “I really couldn’t say. I don’t think she’s thought about it. She probably doesn’t want to.”

  “I don’t wonder. You see why it’s difficult for me to accept the idea of your marrying her? However, that doesn’t much matter anymore.” He took a thoughtful sip of his drink. When he looked back at Perry, he nodded as though he’d come to a decision. “Yes. Marry her, my dearest. Go on, do it. And the sooner, the better, as far as the draft is concerned.”

  “And have those triplets?” Perry laughed.

  “That would take considerably more time than just telling them you’re homosexual.” He looked steadily at Perry over the rim of his glass and took another sip. “Would you consider telling them?”

  “You mean get married and then say I’m a homosexual?” Perry moved to the bar and mixed himself a drink. “Would that make sense to anybody?”

  “As much as any of it. They shouldn’t try to classify sexual preferences. The British know they wouldn’t have an army at all if they did. Certainly not a navy. Britannia not ruling the waves? It’s unthinkable.”

  “I don’t much like the idea of having that sort of thing on my record.” Perry sat on the arm of Billy’s chair and put an arm across his shoulders. “I gather you’re anxious for me to stay out of it?”

  “Frankly, the thought of being without you for the next few months — or however long it takes — terrifies me. You don’t have to worry about the record. It’s strictly confidential. All anybody will know is that you’re classified 4-F, as if you had fallen arches.”

  Perry gave Billy’s shoulder a pat and moved back to his chair. If Billy needed him, that was reason enough, but he’d do anything to speed up his marriage to Bet. “Okay. I’ll do it. I don’t really long to be put in uniform, no matter how gorgeous I’d look in one.”

  “If you looked more gorgeous, you’d probably be thrown out of the Army as a disrupting influence.”

  “Does that mean that I can tell Bet you’ve given us your parental consent?”

  “Definitely. There may be papers she wants me to sign. Tell her I’ll sign them. I don’t envy you having Arlene as a mother-in-law. God help you. Thank heavens my condition should make her hesitate to drag me into the fray. That’s the only good thing that can be said about my condition.”

  “I wonder if I’m strong enough to survive the ordeal?”

  “You’re as tough as she is, dear boy, and that’s saying everything. I’ve settled everything with my mother as best I can. I can’t discuss certain things with her. We can’t blame a woman of her background and age for considering the essential facts of my life as beyond the pale.”

  “God knows how she’ll react to mine.”

  “I’ve made her promise not to let Arlene influence her, but her sense of family is too strong for her to allow a breach with her only grandchild. She may receive you, but probably not until I’ve made myself scarce. She’ll do everything for Bet that she’s done for me.”

  When Billy talked so openly about the inevitable, it made Perry’s throat ache with anguish. He struggled to keep himself under control. “Jesus, Billy,” he muttered.

  “Careful,” Billy said, looking over his shoulder for the Filipino cook, and then smiled into Perry’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I have to say one more word about business, and then we won’t talk about it again. I’ve gone over my affairs carefully, and there’s just about as little as I thought. There’s the boat if we can manage to get it here. I’m working on it. I’ll leave it to Bet just so I have something to leave her. Other odds and ends add up to about $25,000. I’m arranging to have it turned over to you. That, unfortunately, will be the end of what I can do for you. I hope you can keep it long enough for it to earn a little interest. It’ll undoubtedly go soon enough. Girls like Bet are expensive.”

  “She has her allowance.”

  “I know, but that barely keeps her in hats. I have a couple of Bonnards and a Pissarro put away in storage, but Mother gave me extra money to buy them, so I don’t think it would be honorable not to give them to her. She likes them. I haven’t been a collector, as you know. I thought it would be fun to start picking up things that we liked, but it appears that we won’t have time. How funny. It’s just occurred to me that you’re going to be rich as I never have been. What fun you and Bet will have when Mother joins me. I envy you.”

  “You said you didn’t want to be gallant, Billy, but I don’t think you can help it.”

  Billy smiled slyly. “The temptation is sometimes overwhelming.”

  Bet squealed with childlike glee when Perry told her they could go ahead and get married as soon as possible. The long waiting was over. They got the formalities, blood tests, and so forth over in a morning’s dash from office to office.

  “Now I know what a Wassermann is,” Bet said proudly.

  “You’re growing up,” Perry teased. “You’ll soon be old enough to get married.”

  Billy nodded approval when Perry told him over drinks that they were going to City Hall the next day.

  “Not much of a wedding, but it’s the simplest way,” Billy said. “Come in for a glass of champagne after. I’ll see you together now, but don’t let’s make a habit of it. Something in me continues to feel affronted. I don’t understand it myself. I may simply be embarrassed. I’ll try to get over it. Is Arlene behaving herself?”

  “She doesn’t know yet. Bet’s going to tell her after the fact.”

  “For heaven’s sake, tell her before it gets in the papers.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll remind Bet.”

  Bet was as thrilled with the bleak litt
le ceremony in City Hall as if she’d been married in Westminster Abbey.

  If Billy was nervous about seeing them together, he didn’t show it. Laszlo kept opening bottles of champagne, and even Jesus came in to make an incoherent toast. Billy presented them with a sizable check, and they unwrapped a big Tiffany box from Laszlo filled with every conceivable bar implement, from cocktail shaker to corkscrew, in sterling silver.

  Bet left the room and came back with the announcement that she’d just called her mother and there’d been no fuss. Not a word. “She fainted, I think,” Bet said, beaming triumphantly.

  They had an uproarious dinner at the Stork Club, with cameras flashing and reporters following the newlyweds on their rounds to the Rainbow Room and El Morocco.

  When they finally got back to the little apartment, Bet made a comic ceremony of removing her diaphragm and sailing it out the window with a flourish.

  “It’s probably worn-out anyway,” Perry pointed out. “It’s been through considerable stress and strain.”

  “So have we,” Bet said. “Now. Come here, you. Let’s finally do this thing right.”

  Bet wasted no time in finding another apartment — five rooms in a handsome building on Park Avenue at 67th Street. Perry shuddered at the thought of paying $250 a month but bit his tongue. If he could get back into a lucky bridge-playing routine, they just might be able to afford it.

  Bet did the groundwork in searching for furniture and then would take Perry back to the shops for his approval. He was pleased that they agreed on almost everything. They radiated happiness, and shopkeepers beamed at the beautiful couple as they had the time of their lives furnishing and decorating their new home.

  Being married was even better than Perry had imagined; Bet was adorable, open, and enthusiastic about everything, and being able to finally live together with nothing to hide was bliss. Even the expensive secondhand baby grand piano that Bet bought was excused when Perry learned that she could actually play it. She’d been right. It was also perfect for the living room.

  In London, Perry had noticed the widespread custom of displaying silver-framed photographs on tops of pianos and splurged at Cartier for his little collection of celebrity photos, including the one of the duchess of Windsor. He thought they looked elegant and gave him a sense of roots and continuity.