Ten From Infinity | Page 4

was as great.
Reacting according to current, "broad-minded" thinking and Manhattan
sophistication, she regarded herself and Frank as having a "good
physical relationship." Which individual need was the greatest, she had
never been able to say. But there certainly was something extraordinary
about it. In analyzing it, she'd arrived at the conclusion that they'd been
able, on the basis of personal rapport, to function in a completely

uninhibited manner; thus, some of their love-making, when lifted out of
context and surveyed objectively, might have been called abnormal.
Rhoda did not think so, however; or, if she did, she blocked the idea
successfully by telling herself that whatever she and Frank did together
was all right because they did it. She told herself it was good for them
because they looked at it with a healthy attitude.
She could, of course, have gotten this opinion, or one in complete
opposition to it, from two different psychologists, but she preferred to
play it as she saw it.
She had wondered at times just how important the sex relation was in
her attachment to Frank. It was of major importance, of that she was
sure, but was it the key? If they drifted apart physically, would the
other aspects of the relationship vanish? She thought not, but she
certainly would not have been willing to put it to the test.
Frank Corson was through looking out the window now and he began
pacing nervously. "Sure--so it's fine to be a doctor. It's the sure-fire
answer for later in life. But what about now? What about this crawling
up the ladder inch by inch?" He turned on her defiantly.
"Living on your money!"
"You aren't!"
"All right. Maybe not technically." He looked around the room
resentfully. "Using your apartment for--"
"Frank! When I have guests, do they hesitate because my apartment is
nicer than--?"
She knew she'd hurt him even before his head came around and his
eyes narrowed. "So that's what it really is to you!"
She'd said the wrong thing, but even as she sprang up from the bed she
felt that it made no difference because he would have found something
else. "I didn't mean it that way. You know I didn't."

She ran to him and laid her hands on his chest; his eyes traveled down
her naked body and his mind struggled. His expression said it was a
little unfair of her to come so close and stand that way, nude and
beautiful and eager, in front of him, especially when he had a point to
make.
"I'm a pauper trying to keep up with the rich."
She knew how to break his mood now. She smiled and pressed against
him lightly and said, "Uh-huh, but what a pauper. And darling, money
wouldn't change that part of it a bit."
He drew her to him violently. The impact of their bodies hurt her ribs
but she gloried in the pain. She let her knees weaken and sank to the
thickly carpeted floor, bringing him down with her.
She knew Frank's outburst was over--at least for that day.
Later, on the bed, he opened his eyes sleepily. "What time is it?"
"A little after ten."
"That gives us almost two more hours." He looked out over the East
River. "It's beautiful."
"Isn't it?"
"If I went right into research--took a job somewhere--I could afford to
give this to you."
She thought of saying, But, darling, I've got it already, and decided a
change of subject would be more judicious and said, "You were
kidding last night, weren't you?"
"Kidding?"
"About the man with two hearts."
Frank grinned a little sheepishly. He was extremely handsome and

totally unconscious of it, and when he grinned that way it made him
look like a little boy caught stealing jam, and Rhoda always wanted to
hug him. But she forebore as he said, "It does seem a little silly, doesn't
it?"
"You'd know more about that than I do. Is it silly?"
"Let's say the chances of such a thing happening are rather remote."
"You only used your stethoscope last night?"
"That was all. I went by what I heard."
"What will you do now? X-ray?"
"I'm not sure I'll do anything. The idea is so preposterous."
She regarded him thoughtfully. "It's not like you to lose interest in
anything until you know the answer."
He snubbed out his cigarette. "Let's forget Park Hill and funny
anatomies, baby. Let's sit on the terrace and bathe ourselves in luxury
the way the TV ad says."
And that was the way things stayed for two hours. The time passed
swiftly, and when Frank was finally dressed and ready for the street, he
refused Rhoda's offer to drive him to the hospital because she was very
late, too. He kissed