“Really, tragic,” Allie said again.

He put his arm around her and kissed her on the lips. She kissed him back with a closed mouth. He rested his hand on her bare knee beneath the hem of her UFO Show skirt, but Allie pressed down on it. “I think we should converse this evening, don’t you Leo?”

“Yeah, let’s converse.” He ran his nose up into her hairline and kissed the top of her ear. Allie shrugged her shoulder and pushed his hand off her knee.

“No, seriously, Leo. If we make love every time we see each other then it’ll never work.”

“What won’t work?”

“Our romance. It won’t be one.” She reached over and scratched the short hairs on his neck. “We have to engage our minds now, don’t you think?”

Leo was quiet. His erection was pushing against his jeans. He took her scratching hand and held it.

“My mom says lovemaking is like dancing. Once you find a partner you just wait for the music to start up. Well yesterday there was us and there was music and now that we’ve danced we can get on with more adult matters.”

“What matters?”

“Don’t play fencepost with me, Leo.”

“I’m not, I just don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Allie looked out the windshield and smiled. “See? This is good. We’re getting into a heated debate.”

“This isn’t a debate, I just asked a question.”

“And see how neat questions are, Leo? My dad says every question asked is an act of hope, and that we all have this natural hunger for the truth.” Allie scooted to him and rested her cheek on his shoulder.

“You admire him a lot, huh?”

“How many men do you know who want to change the world?”

Leo thought of Chick thanking his three-man crew for their attention after his lunchtime lecture, the way he walked quickly away like he didn’t want to hear any wisecracks behind him. Leo wanted to say, “Tell me another one,” or “You’re nuts,” but he put his hand on Allie’s knee again instead.

“You have vision too, Leo. I saw it in your room.”

“Under my bed?”

She swatted his shoulder. “Nope, that poster. You think Gerry Poitras has any Negro heroes on his wall?”

Leo laughed. “He calls me a nigger-lover sometimes.”

“You let him? You let him say nigger?”

“I guess so. He’s only kidding me. He kids everybody about everything. Besides, I just like blues music and bluesmen. I don’t know much about Negroes. Never met one really.”

Leo could see her stiffen. Then he heard it in her voice, and he didn’t want her to get the wrong idea.

“But you do respect them, right? As equals?”

“Oh of course, absolutely.”

Allie let out a breath and kissed him on the mouth. They talked and kissed a long while after that, until the moon was out and the half-frame of the new house shone pale as a skeleton. Allie didn’t touch Leo below his belt, but she let him put his finger inside her.