Rapture

Sean blinked and appeared to be confused. But the situation transformed and clarified itself for him quickly as he absorbed Jeffs words and tone of voice. Then he was almost amused, and it showed on his face.

He must think I'm a fool, Jeff decided, some silly twerp who feels compelled to confess that he and Georgianne had misbehaved twenty years ago. Yes, that would be how Sean Corcoran's mind worked. He should only be so lucky. Hold on, pal, the best is yet to come.

"Yeah, you see, the thing is," Jeff continued in a rush, "I know this will be a shock to you, but the fact is I'm very serious about Georgianne. And she's just as serious about me. That's the reality of it."

"What?" A surprised, half-laugh of exclamation.

"I'm telling you the truth," Jeff followed up promptly. "There's really nothing you can do about it, except make it a little more painful and messy, and I hope you won't go in for that. I don't care about myself, it wouldn't bother me, but it would hurt Georgian,, and she doesn't deserve that kind of treatment after all she's given you."

Jeff stood there, rigid as a stone gargoyle out of the Middle Ages, but his heart thundered, and he thought he could feel the blood surging through every part of his body.

Sean put his hands on his hips. "Are you kidding?"

Jeff snapped back, "Not at all."

"This isn't a joke," Sean stated calmly. "You're really serious about this."

"Of course I am," Jeff said angrily. "I didn't have to come here at this time of day and talk to you reasonably like this. We could have taken another route, but no, I've made this effort. I want you to understand. I want you to see the whole picture."

"You do mean it," Sean said quietly, almost to himself. "All right, what is the picture? Go ahead, tell me."

"Ha, that's good. What the fuck do you think it is, for Chrissake? You're finished, Sean, you're through. It's all over. It was a mistake in the first place. It never should have happened. But you've had your time, you've had her, and for way too long. Now I'm telling you it's over, finished, done. Ended." Jeff felt serene, steady as a pure white flame, and it was the best feeling he'd ever known.

"Jeff, you're..." Sean made an effort to suppress the anger he was beginning to feel. "Look," he said gently, "you've got a problem and-"

"Don't talk to me like that," Jeff responded hotly. "You're the one with the problem, man, and there's nothing you can do about it. Listen to what I'm telling you."

"Jeff, what did Georgianne say to you?"

"That's between her and me."

"Jeff, I don't know ..." Sean looked embarrassed as well as disconcerted now. "You must have misunderstood." Then, hesitantly, he added, "Georgianne doesn't care about you-I mean, not that way."

"You're full of shit," Jeff answered, his voice low and furious. "It's a waste of time even trying to talk sense to you."

"1 mean, she cares about you, of course," Sean went on soothingly. "Very much. You're a very dear friend to her. But, really, Jeff, she doesn't love you, if that's what you think." His manner was soft and patient, like a parent's trying to explain to one child why he couldn't have another child's toy.

"She doesn't love me? That's funny coming from you. What would you know about it? All you've done is bury her here for twenty years. Let me tell you something, Sean. You don't understand your own wife. You don't even come close. And you treat her like a piece of shit."

"She's my wife, and I know her far better than you do." Sean's face tightened as he spoke, and his cheeks burned. "You're imagining all this. It's just some-"

"You'd be funny if you weren't so pathetic," Jeff cut in. "You insult her all the time. I couldn't believe it. You know, I wanted to like you, because you were married to Georgianne, and I hoped she had a good life, a good husband. I tried to like you, but it isn't possible. You're a weak, sarcastic little man, and you don't have the slightest idea how to treat a woman like Georgianne. And if I were wrong about all this, she wouldn't have responded to me the way she did." His smile became a sneer.

"I don't believe you," Sean said flatly. He was fed up now. There was no point in arguing like this.

.You don't want to believe me. That's what it is," Jeff taunted insistently. "You're afraid of the truth."

One short, sharp punch to the temple would put an end to this nonsense, Sean thought. He could do it, But he knew he would regret it later, and so would Georgianne. Besides, Lisker wasn't worth the risk of a broken finger. Better to treat him like a disturbed person, which he obviously was, someone who was unbalanced rather than merely mean and nasty.