The Tight White Collar by Grace Metalious Read Free Book Online Page B

her mind now were those of not quite forgotten stories.
    I am carrying a love child, she thought happily. And everyone knows that love children are the most beautiful children of all, because they were conceived in love.
    She hummed to herself as she parked the car in front of the Cameron house.
    The brass plate on the front door of the old house said,
Dr. Gordon Cameron
in script and below that, in the same script but with the letters sharper and newer looking,
Dr. Jess Cameron
. A white card over the doorbell said,
Walk In
.
    Lisa rang and went through the door into the carpeted hallway. To her left was a waiting room filled with leather-upholstered chairs, potted plants and tables covered with magazines. To her right was the living room. From where she stood, Lisa could see the big, comfortable-looking chairs and the enormous brick fireplace. She noticed that the carpeting in that room covered the entire floor from one wall to another. It was the first time in her life that she had seen a room where the rug was not surrounded on all four sides by a border of bare, painted floor. The Cameron living room was prettier than any picture she had ever seen in any magazine and now she could imagine what her mother meant when she spoke of the beautiful house that had been owned by the Durands.
    I’ll fix our living room just like this one, thought Lisa, and could hardly wait for the afternoon to be over so that she could get back to Cooper’s Mills to tell Chris.
    She was still standing there, staring into the living room, when the door at the far end of the hall opened.
    â€œWell, hello there,” said the woman who came toward her. “You’re an early one, ain’t ya? First one in today.” Then she stopped and eyed Lisa suspiciously. “Say, don’t I know you?”
    Lisa whirled around. She knew who the woman was, all right. Everybody knew. She was Marie Fennell and everybody in Cooper’s Mills knew about Marie. Maybe they even knew about her in Cooper Station. Maybe the whole state knew about Marie.
    â€œI never saw you before in my life,” said Lisa coldly.
    Marie Fennell seemed to sag with a sudden weariness. Nobody’s ever goin’ to forget, she thought tiredly. Never.
    â€œDoctor’ll be right with you,” she said. “Young doc that is. Other one’s over to the hospital.” She indicated the room to the left. “Go on in and have a seat.”
    â€œThank you very much,” said Lisa and hoped that she sounded like Irene when she said it.
    Imagine, thought Lisa. Two doctors in a nice place like Cooper Station having someone like Marie Fennell in their house. It was awful, that’s what it was. Just plain awful.
    She was halfway through a magazine when Jess Cameron put his head through the door.
    â€œHi,” he said. “Come on in.”
    Why, he’s not
young
at all, thought Lisa, feeling outraged. He must be
thirty
if he’s a day! She told herself that she had a good mind to get up and leave right now. But the thought of gossipy Dr. Dorrance in Cooper’s Mills stopped her.
    â€œSit down,” invited Jess after she had stepped into his office. He indicated a chair next to the desk and Lisa sat.
    Just wait until I tell Chris, thought Lisa angrily. Why, he’s old enough to be my father and probably talks more than any ten old women put together.
    Jess Cameron sat behind his desk and unbuttoned his coat. He lit a cigarette and removed the cap from his fountain pen and took a white card from a drawer.
    â€œNow,” he said, and smiled at her. “What’s your name?”
    â€œMelissa Anne St. George,” she replied primly.
    Jess tossed his fountain pen down and leaned back in his chair.
    â€œNow don’t tell me that every time I talk to you I have to say all that,” he laughed.
    Suddenly he did not seem old at all, and Lisa laughed too.
    â€œNo,” she said, “that was just for the record. You