Moore was pulling his pajama top over his head.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I've got to go to the dungeon," he said. "I'd be grateful if one of you would drive me."
"You're not going anywhere."
"Hey," he said, almost nastily, "enough of this `me Mommy and you Little Boy' bullshit. I have to go to the dungeon. They called. I'm going."
"What the hell is the dungeon?"
He didn't answer her. He found a T-shirt and pulled it over his head. After he stuck his arms in the sleeves of a shirt, he looked at her.
"The dungeon is what they call the cryptographic room. It's in the SWPOA basement. A message there has to be decoded."
"And they don't have a cryptographic officer on duty? Why do you have to go?"
Again, he didn't reply. He turned his back to her and dropped his pajama trousers. She could see the scars on his legs. He almost fell over putting his undershorts on.
When he reached for his trousers, she went to him.
"Let me help you," she said, much more fiercely than she intended. "I don't want you breaking your leg."
He sat on the bed. She dropped to her knees, picked up his pants, and worked them up his calves. When she looked up at him, she saw him staring down the front of her bathrobe.
She flushed and angrily put her hand to the opening, closed the robe, quickly got to her feet, and turned around.
"I hope you got an eyeful!" she snapped.
She could see him in the mirror over the chest of drawers.
He pushed himself off the bed, stood up, and pulled his trousers up. He had an erection. It stood there defiantly until he had tucked his shirt in and buttoned his waistband. As he pushed himself inside his fly and zipped himself up, he said, "If you didn't want me to look, why did you come in here dressed like that?"
A wave of anger swept through her. She spun around and slapped him as hard as she could, so hard that he fell backward onto the bed.
"You bastard!" she hissed.
And then, as quickly as it came, the anger passed and she realized what she had done.
"Jesus!" he said, shaking his head.
Joanne fled the bedroom, crossed the living room without looking at Barbara, went into their bedroom, and slammed the door.
She leaned against the bedroom door, breathing heavily.
A moment later she heard him ask, "Where's the keys to the Studebaker?"
"You shouldn't be going out," Barbara said.
"Give me the damned keys!" he said.
"I'll drive you," Joanne heard Barbara say. She heard the front door close. After that, the engine started, and then the headlights swept across the window curtains.
She pushed herself off the wall and went and sat on the edge of her bed.
"It's all right, I'm awake," Joanne said when Barbara came into their room without turning on the light. They had been gone two hours.
Barbara turned the lights on and started to get undressed.
"Is he all right?"
"I just gave him his eleven-thirty Atabrine," Barbara said.
"What was that all about?" Joanne asked. "Did you get to see the dungeon?"
"No. They wouldn't let me in there. Whatever it is, it's in the basement of the SWPOA headquarters building. But I did get to see General MacArthur."
"MacArthur? Really?"
"Yeah. In the flesh. First we went down in the basement. They made me wait outside-"
"Who made you wait?"
"A couple of sergeants with submachine guns made me wait outside a steel door. John went inside, he was in there I guess almost an hour, and then he came back out. Then we got back on the elevator, and he said, `Now you'll get a chance to see how the other half lives,' and we rode up to the seventh floor. More sergeants with submachine guns.
"One of them said, `The Supreme Commander is expecting you, Lieutenant.'
"Really?"
"And the sergeant opened a door, and John said, `I'll be right out,' and went in. MacArthur was standing right inside, walking around with a cup of coffee."
"And?"
"John said, `Good evening, General." And MacArthur said, `Where's Pluto?" and John said, `He had to go to Townsville, Sir,' and handed him a folder with a TOP SECRET cover sheet. MacArthur read it and grunted. Then he asked, `Has General Willoughby seen this?" and John said, `No, Sir. I just decoded it,' and MacArthur said, `I'll see that he gets it." And then he said, `Have I met you before, Lieutenant?" and John said, `I was stationed here before, Sir, as a sergeant." And MacArthur said, `Yes, of course, you're the fellow they sent to Guadalcanal by mistake. I'm glad to see you're recovered."
"Recovered, in a pig's eye!" Joanne interrupted.
"You want to hear what happened or not?" Barbara asked.
"Go on."
"So then MacArthur laid his hand on John's shoulder, sort of patted him, and said, `I'm sorry you had to come here this late at night. When did you say Pluto will be back?" and John said, `Probably tomorrow, Sir,' and MacArthur grunted and walked him to the door. `Good night, son. Thank you,' he said, and then he saw me and smiled and nodded. What do you think about that?"
"I hope you're not making it all up," Joanne said.
"Well, you can go to hell!" Barbara said. She went into the bathroom.