“This is ridiculous!” Marissa said finally. She’d never had so much trouble making up her mind. With a new but fragile sense of resolve, she mounted the stairs and walked into Robert’s study.
“Robert, I’d like to talk to you about something.”
Robert turned to face her.
“Wendy and I have been thinking,” she continued.
“Oh?”
“It may sound a little crazy..
“These days, I’d expect as much.”
“We thought that perhaps it would do us good to get away for a short time,” Marissa said.
“Like a vacation.”
“I can’t take time off now,” Robert said.
“No, not you and I,” Marissa said, “Wendy and I. Just us girls.”
Robert thought for a moment. The idea had some merit. It would give him and Marissa time to cool down.
“That doesn’t sound so crazy. Where were you thinking of going?”
“Australia,” Marissa said. She winced as the word came out of her mouth.
“Australia!” Robert exclaimed. He snatched off his reading glasses and tossed them on top of his correspondence.
“Australia!” he repeated as if he’d not heard correctly.
“There is an explanation,” Marissa said.
“We didn’t just pull Australia out of a hat. I found out today that the only concentration of cases of TB of the fallopian tubes like Wendy and I have is in Brisbane, Australia. So we could do a little research as well as have some fun. It was Wendy’s idea. She’s a diving enthusiast and the Great Barlier Reef-” “You were right!” Robert said, interrupting her.
“This sounds very crazy. This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Your practice is in a shambles and you want to fly halfway around the world to continue a crusade that came close to landing you in jail.
I thought you meant a little vacation, like a weekend in Bermuda.
Something reasonable.”
“You don’t have to overreact,” Marissa said.
“I thought we could talk about this.”
“How can I not overreact?” Robert demanded.
“It’s not that unreasonable,” Marissa said.
“I also learned today that this odd form of TB has been showing up on an international scale. Not only in Australia, but in Europe as well.
Someone should be looking into it.”
“And you are that someone?” Robert asked.
“In your state, you think you are appropriate?”
“I think I am very qualified.”
“Well, I think you’re wrong,” Robert said.
“There’s no way you could be objective. You’re one of the cases yourself. And if you care about my opinion, I think your going to Australia is preposterous. That’s all I have to say.”
Robert reached for his reading glasses and slipped them on.
Looking away from Marissa, he turned his attention back to his computer screen.
Seeing that he really didn’t intend to discuss it any further, Marissa turned and walked out the door.
The problem with going to Australia was that for the most part Marissa thought Robert was right. It seemed an extravagant idea, in time as well as expense, not that finances were her top consideration. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling: it seemed unreasonable to suddenly fly halfway around the world.
Reaching for the phone, she called Wendy. Wendy answered on the first ring, as if she were waiting by the phone.
“Well?” Wendy asked.
“It doesn’t look good,” Marissa said.
“Robert is very much against the idea, at least of going to Australia. He likes the vacation part.”
“Damn!” Wendy said.
“I’m disappointed. I was practically packing my bag. I could just feel that hot Australian sumner sun.”
“Another time,” Marissa said.
“Sorry to be such a drag.”
“Sleep on it,” Wendy said.
“Maybe tomorrow you and Robert will feel differently. I’m sure we’d have a ball.”
Marissa hung up the phone. Suddenly sleep sounded good to her. She climbed the stairs, wishing that Robert would surprise her and join her for a change.
Marissa opened her eyes and immediately knew she’d overslept.
The light in the bedroom was brighter than it should have been. Rolling to the side, she glanced at the clock. She was right, it was almost eight-thirty, an hour later than usual. She wasn’t surprised. Having awakened at four A.M. and unable to fall back asleep, she’d taken a piece of one of Robert’s Valiums.