‘What do you tell the kids?’ Lou asked, unable to hide her interest. ‘Be conscious? Don’t pretend you’re ordinary?’

‘There’s a moment, just before they become adults, when they listen. That moment is what I live for.’

Lou now tried to meet Jude’s smiling eyes, but blushed shyly. If this was some kind of contest, all Lou knew about it was that she was losing.

‘So?’ Gordon asked with a feeble tremor, like a third wheel. ‘How about you tell me what happened with Carl? Isn’t that what a teacher has to do for a parent when there’s some issue involving their child?’

‘Not since the last century.’ Jude frowned. ‘I’m sorry, Gordon, I’d really like to be able to tell you, but I would only be able to do so in a safe space where the student and his parent also had the opportunity to participate.’

‘I am the parent. And the student is downstairs hiding from this party in the basement like I’m hiding from it in here. You want to come down and set up a conference?’

Jude gave him a steady, serious stare. ‘You and Ben are not the student and parent who have the problem.’

‘Oh.’

‘Right.’

‘Frontal.’

Jude nodded. ‘The issue is between Daniel and Carl. That’s why I can’t talk to you about it.’

‘It’s none of my business, even though we both know it is.’

Jude gave an apologetic shrug. ‘Have you thought about asking Kelly?’

‘She’s not here,’ Gordon said. ‘I don’t know what she does with her evenings.’

Jude rolled her eyes. ‘She is looking good these days, even if I say so myself.’

‘Want to stay a while?’ Lou said.

Jude sighed in the direction of the living room, where the uproar was swelling and falling in sharper peaks as more alcohol was added. Japan Ned had shown up, along with the five-time state champ and her husband, as well as more surfers from the beach, who had washed off downstairs and followed the scent of free beer.

‘I don’t really fit in with the old crowd.’

‘Sure,’ Gordon replied. ‘Well. Thanks for the books.’

‘Here.’ Lou was holding out her longneck to Jude, whose hand reached out and accepted it autonomously. ‘It’s not a microphone,’ Lou said, and Jude drained it with three bobs of her upturned throat.