It was a compromise proposal, and that had to be good news. But what, exactly, did it mean?

Presumably the Soviets would withdraw their nuclear weapons from Cuba. Nothing less would count for anything.

But could the United States promise never to invade Cuba? Would President Kennedy even consider tying his own hands like that? George thought he would be loath to give up all hope of getting rid of Castro.

And how would the world react to such a deal? Would they see it as a foreign policy coup for Khrushchev? Or would they say Kennedy had forced the Soviets to back down?

Was this good news? George could not decide.

Larry Mawhinney put his buzz-cut head around the door. “Cuba has short-range nuclear weapons now,” he said.

“We know,” said George. “The CIA found them yesterday.”

“That means we have to have the same,” said Larry.

“What do you mean?”

“The Cuba invasion force must be equipped with battlefield nukes.”

“Must it?”

“Of course! The Joint Chiefs are about to demand them. Would you send our men into battle less well armed than the enemy?”

He had a point, George saw; but there was a terrible consequence. “So now any war with Cuba must be a nuclear war, from the start.”

“Damn right,” said Larry, and he left.

• • •

Last thing, George dropped by his mother’s house. Jacky made coffee and put a plate of cookies in front of him. He did not take one. “I saw Greg yesterday,” he said.

“How is he?”

“Same as ever. Except . . . Except that he told me I was the best thing that ever happened to him.”

“Hm!” she said in a disparaging tone. “What brought that on?”

“He wanted me to know how proud he is of me.”

“Well, well. There is still some good in that man.”

“How long is it since you last saw Lev and Marga?”

Jacky narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “What kind of question is that?”

“You get along well with Grandmother Marga.”

“That’s because she loves you. When a person loves your child, it’s endearing. You’ll find that out when you have kids.”

“You haven’t seen her since Harvard commencement, more than a year ago.”

“That’s true.”

“You don’t work on the weekend.”

“The club is closed Saturdays and Sundays. When you were small I had to have weekends off, to take care of you when you weren’t in school.”

“The First Lady has taken Caroline and John Junior to Glen Ora.”

“Oh, and I suppose you think I ought to go to my country house in Virginia and spend a couple of days riding my horses?”

“You could go and see Marga and Lev in Buffalo.”

“Go to Buffalo for the weekend?” she said incredulously. “For pity’s sake, child! I’d spend all Saturday on the train there and all Sunday on the train back.”

“You could fly.”

“I can’t afford to.”

“I’ll buy you a ticket.”

“Oh, my good Lord,” she said. “You think the Russians are going to bomb us this weekend, don’t you?”