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THE MURPHY BED
IT’S LATE AFTERNOON by the time we get back to the hotel. Olly flicks on all the lights
and the ceiling fan and then does a diving somersault onto the bed.
He lies on one side and then the other. “This side is mine,” he says, meaning the left
side, closer to the door. “I sleep on the left,” he says. “So you know. For future reference.”
He sits up and presses down on the mattress with his palms. “You know what I said
before about Murphy beds being the height of comfort? I’m going to take that back.”
“Are you nervous?” I blurt out. I turn on the lamp on the right side of the bed.
“No,” he says, too quickly. He rolls over, drops off the side of the bed to the floor, and
stays there.
I sit down at the edge of my side and bounce an experimental bounce. The mattress
squeaks at me.
“Why do you sleep on the left when you sleep alone?” I ask. I move onto the bed and lie
down. He’s right. It’s breathtakingly uncomfortable.
“Maybe it’s anticipation,” he says.
“Of what?”
He doesn’t answer, so I roll over to peer down at him. He’s lying on his back, one arm
flung across his eyes.
“Company,” he says.
I retract my head, blushing. “You’re kind of a hopeless romantic,” I say.
“Sure. Sure.”
We slip into quiet. Above us the fan whirs softly, coaxing warm air around the room.
Through the doors I hear the ding of the elevators and the low murmur of passing voices.
A few days ago just a single day outside seemed like it would be enough, but now that
I’ve had one, I want more. I’m not sure if forever would do.
“Yes,” Olly says after a while. “I’m nervous.”
“Why?”
He takes a breath that I don’t hear him release. “I’ve never felt about anybody the way I
feel about you.” He doesn’t say it quietly. If anything, he says it too loudly and all in a
rush, as if the words have been wanting to tumble out for a long time.
I sit up on my elbows, lie back down, sit up again. Are we talking about love?
“I’ve never felt this way either,” I whisper.
“But it’s different for you.” There’s frustration in his voice.
“Why? How?”
“It’s your first time for everything, Maddy, but it’s not for me.”