Lucy said, ‘Well, it’s sort of ironical now. One of the papers I did back then was a practical tutorial on UNIX security. My focus was basically passwords, you know, what could happen if users chose poor passwords. So I talked about the encryption subroutine in C libraries that-‘
‘What was the other paper about?’ Marino interrupted her. ‘Brain surgery?’
‘How did you guess?’ she said just as snootily.
‘What was it on?’ I asked.
‘Wordsworth,’ she said.
We ate at the Globe and Laurel, and as I looked around at Highland plaid, police patches and beer steins hanging over the bar, I thought of my life. Mark and I used to eat here, and then in London a bomb detonated as he walked past. Wesley and I once came here often. Then we began knowing each other too well, and we no longer went out in public much.
Everyone had French onion soup and tenderloin. Janet was typically quiet, and Marino would not stop staring at her and making provocative comments. Lucy was getting increasingly infuriated with him, and I was surprised at his behavior. He was no fool. He knew what he was doing.
‘Aunt Kay,’ Lucy said, ‘I want to spend the weekend with you.’
‘In Richmond?’ I asked.
‘That’s where you still live, isn’t it?’ She did not smile.
I hesitated. ‘I think you need to stay where you are right now.’
‘I’m not in prison. I can do what I want.’
‘Of course you’re not in prison,’ I said quietly. ‘Let me talk to Benton, all right?’
She was silent.
‘So tell me what you think of the Sig-nine,’ Marino was saying to Janet’s bosom.
She boldly looked him in the eye and said, ‘I’d rather have a Colt Python with a six-inch barrel. Wouldn’t you?’
Dinner continued to deteriorate, and the ride back to the Academy was tensely silent except for Marino’s unrelenting attempts to engage Janet in a dialogue. After we let her and Lucy out of the truck, I turned to him and boiled over.
‘For God’s sake,’ I exploded. ‘What has gotten into you?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘You were obnoxious. Absolutely obnoxious, and you know exactly what I’m talking about.’
He sped through the darkness along J. Edgar Hoover Road, heading toward the interstate as he fumbled for a cigarette.
‘Janet will probably never want to be around you again,’I went on. ‘I wouldn’t blame Lucy for avoiding you, either. And that’s a shame. The two of you had become friends.’
‘Just because I’ve given her shooting lessons don’t mean we’re friends,’ he said. ‘As far as I’m concerned she’s a spoiled brat just like she’s always been, and a smart-ass. Not to mention, I don’t like her type and I sure as hell don’t understand why you let her do the things she does.’
‘What things!’ I said, getting more put out with him.
‘Has she ever dated a guy?’ He glanced over at me. ‘I mean, even once?’
‘Her private life is none of your concern,’ I replied. ‘It is not relevant to how you behaved this evening.’
‘Bullshit. If Carrie hadn’t been Lucy’s girlfriend, ERF probably never would have been broken into, and we wouldn’t have Gault running around inside the computer.’
‘That’s a ridiculous statement not based on a single fact,’ I said. ‘I suspect Carrie would have completed her mission whether Lucy was part of the scenario or not.’
‘I tell you’ – he blew smoke toward his slightly opened window – ‘queers are ruining this planet.’
‘God help us,’ I said with disgust. ‘You sound like my sister.’
‘I think you need to send Lucy someplace. Get her some help.’
‘Marino, you simply must stop this. Your opinions are based on ignorance. They are hateful. If my niece prefers women instead of men, please tell me why that is so threatening to you.’
‘It don’t threaten me in the least. It’s just unnatural.’ He tossed the cigarette butt out the window, a tiny missile extinguished by the night. ‘But hey, it’s not that I don’t understand it. It’s a known fact that a lot of women go for each other because it’s the best they can do.’