Checking

金凯德拿着可乐走出门去，那些目光还在盯着他。也许他请弗朗西丝卡出来是犯了一个错误，为她着想，不是为他自己。如果有人在杉树桥看见她，消息就会由德士古加油站的小费希尔从过往行人那里接过，然后在第二天早餐时传到咖啡馆。也许比这还快。

他已经体会到千万不能低估小镇传递小消息的远程通信效应。对苏丹饿死二百万儿童可以完全无动于衷，可是理查德·约翰逊的妻子和一个长头发的陌生人在一起出现，这可是大新闻！这新闻可以不胫而走，可以细细咀嚼，可以在听的人的心中引起一种模糊的肉欲，成为那一年中他们感觉到的唯一的波澜。

他吃完午饭走到县政府广场停车场的公用电话亭，拨了她的号码，铃响三次时她接了电话，稍稍有点气喘。“喂，还是罗伯特·金凯德。”

她立刻胃里一阵紧缩，她想，他来不了啦，一定是打电话来告诉我这个。

“我直截了当说吧。由于小镇人的好奇心，如果你今晚跟我一块儿出来有问题，那就别勉强。坦率地，我对这里的人怎么想我，完全不在乎，爱怎么想就怎么想，我晚些时候会到你那儿去的。我要说的是我可能不该请你出来，所以你无论如何不必勉强，尽管我很愿意你跟我一起去。”

自从上次通话之后她也一直在想这个问题。但是她决心已定。“不，我想看你工作，我不担心闲话。”她实际是担心的，但是自己身上有某种东西在主宰着，要做冒点风险的事。不管付出什么代价，她就是要到杉树桥去。

“好极了。我只是想再核实一下，待会儿见。”

“好吧！”他很敏感，但她早就知道了。

Kincaid got his Coke and left, the eyes still on him as he went out the door. Maybe he'd made a mistake in inviting Francesca, for her sake, not his.If someone saw her at Cedar Bridge, word would hit the cafe next morning at breakfast, relayed by young Fischer at the Texaco station after taking a handoff from the passerby. Probably quicker than that.

He'd learned never to underestimate the telecommunicative flash of trivial news in small towns. Two million children could be dying of hunger in the Sudan, and that wouldn't cause a bump in consciousness. But Richard Johnson's wife seen with a long-haired stranger--now that was news! News to be passed around, news to be chewed on, news that created a vague carnal lapping in the minds of those who heard it, the only such ripple they'd feel that year.

He finished his lunch and walked over to the public phone on the parking of the courthouse. Dialed her number. She answered, slightlybreathless, on the third ring."Hi, it's Robert Kincaid again." breathless, on the third ring."Hi, it's Robert Kincaid again."

Her stomach tightened instantly as she thought, He can't come: he's called to say that.

"Let me be direct. If it's a problem for you to come out with me tonight, given the curiosity of small-town people, don't feel pressured to do it. Frankly, I could care less what they think of me around here, and one way or the other, I'll come by later. What I'm trying to say is that I might have made an error in inviting you,so don't feel compelled in any way to do it.Though I'd love to have you along.”

She'd been thinking about just that since they'd talked earlier. But she had decided."No,I'd like to see you do your work.I'm not worried about talk.”She was worried, but something in her had taken hold, something to do with risk. Whatever the cost, she was going out to Cedar Bridge.

"Great. Just thought I'd check.See you later."

"Okay."He was sensitive, but she already knew that.