The Haunter of the Threshold by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page B

She knew she had to say something in response but she also knew how careful she must be. She’d hate me if she ever found out... “Personality? I don’t really know him that well but, yeah, sure, he’s got a good personality.”
    Several moments of silence followed, which seemed strange, but when Hazel glanced over she noticed Sonia grinning at her some more, only the grin was widening to the point she feared her friend was about to burst out laughing.
    “Sonia, why are you grinning at me?”
    “Oh, nothing. I shouldn’t play with you like that.”
    “ What? ”
    “Oh for goodness sake, Hazel. Whenever you and I are talking and Frank’s name comes up, you act like you’re on pins and needles. It’s okay. ”
    Dread began to slide into Hazel’s spirit.
    “I know about your little get-it-on session with Frank last summer,” Sonia added.
    Now it felt like ice-water had flooded Hazel’s gut. She gulped, then suddenly had tears in her eyes. “You—you do? ”
    “Yes, honey, and don’t worry.” Another pat on the knee. “It’s okay.”
    “I...I—Oh, Jesus, Sonia!”
    Sonia laughed. “He told me about that the day after it happened.”
    Hazel was still trembling at the jolt. Suddenly she bubbled over with the need to confess. “I’m sorry! It was the night when the drama department did Lear, and I got drunk, remember, and–”
    “Yes, Hazel, I remember. And I got tired and left early and made Frank promise to drive you home—”
    “And—and—Holy fuck, Sonia! I didn’t mean to, and it was mostly my doing ‘cos I was so crocked! And—damn it—I’ve felt like such a shit ever since but—but—but...you knew all along?”
    “Yes. It’s no big deal.”
    Hazel was practically apoplectic. “You’re my best friend and I fucked your fiancé, and you’re not mad? ”
    “Not at all.”
    “I can’t believe you’re still speaking to me!”
    Sonia put her arm about Hazel’s shoulder, then gave her a peck on the cheek. “Honey, I’m a liberal college professor and so is Frank. We both know that humans are human and sometimes people falter when their inhibitions are down. Jealousy doesn’t exist in my relationship with Frank. So there’s no need for you to get all weird anymore whenever the topic of Frank comes up.”
    Hazel looked fretfully over. “But he doesn’t know about—”
    “About the little fun-session you and I had last winter after the faculty Christmas party? Of course he does.”
    My God... It took Hazel several moments to come to grips with this eruption of information. “Sonia, I swear, I never meant to deceive you–you’re very important to me!”
    “And you’re important to me too, Hazel,” Sonia said more like a mother calming down a child.
    Hazel felt desperate that Sonia believe her. “The only reason I didn’t tell you was because, because I know how much you love him and I thought if I told you, then it would ruin everything for both of you.”
    “You were sweet to think that,” Sonia passed it off. “But just forget about it all now—”
    “But-but, you know, we didn’t really even do much,” Hazel continued to stammer. “We-we didn’t really even have sex, er, intercourse, I mean. We just—”
    “Relax!” Sonia laughed. “He told me all the gory details.”
    Hazel gulped again.
    “Frank and I have done open-sex stuff before, and we probably will again.” Now Sonia was checking her lashes in the flip-down mirror. “It’s just a matter of acknowledging the human sex drive and the need for periodic diversity; it’s proof that he and I are secure in our relationship. But now that I’ve told you—please—stop acting all stressed whenever the topic of Frank comes up. Everything’s cool.”
    Hazel felt herself deflating in relief as she drove on. Thank God, thank God, thank God... Though her assignation with Frank would rank low on the Richter Scale of cheating, Hazel had always felt horribly about it, for her inebriation had been what stoked