When I got home, Leonard took his car and went away somewhere to do Leonard things, which probably meant he was giving Brett and me time together.
Inside, Brett was sitting on the couch with her suitcase parked by her.
I closed the door and said, “Problem?”
“It’s Tillie.”
“You just got back from there. You said yourself you can’t change her.”
“I can’t. She got beat up. Her pimp did it.”
“Shit. How bad?”
“Bad. She’ll be all right, but she’s bad.”
“Damn, Brett, I’m sorry.”
“I got to go. I was just waiting on you.”
“Why didn’t you call?”
“Your phone was off.”
“Oh.”
“And I wouldn’t have called anyway. I wanted to see you before I left.”
“How’d the hospital take it?”
“They took it,” she said, and stood up. “I get there, I’ll give you a call.”
When she stood up and came close, I could see there were tears on her cheeks.
“Long as you need, of course,” I said.
We kissed and I picked up her suitcase and carried it out to her car. She kissed me again and got behind the wheel and started the engine and rolled down the window.
“You didn’t offer to settle the pimp’s hash for me,” she said.
“No. I didn’t.”
“It’s all right. It won’t change him and it won’t change her.” She smiled at me and drove away.
I went upstairs and took off my clothes and closed the blinds and put on my pajamas and got in bed. It was early afternoon and still bright out. But not with the blinds drawn. I lay back on my pillow and pulled her pillow to me. It smelled like she smelled and I liked it.