Dave was sitting on the edge, barefoot with his pants rolled up, paddling his feet in the water. Jenny and Jerry were bobbing around, talking and laughing. Maria sat opposite Dave and put her feet in. The pool was as warm as a bath.

A minute later, President Kennedy appeared, and Maria’s heart beat faster.

He was wearing the usual dark suit, white shirt, and narrow tie. He stood at the edge, smiling at the girls. Maria caught a lemon whiff of his 4711 cologne. He said: “Mind if I join you?” just as if it was their pool, not his.

Jenny said: “Please do!” She and Jerry were not surprised to see him, and Maria deduced that this was not the first time they had swum with the president.

He went into the dressing room and came out again wearing blue swimming trunks. He was lean and tanned, in great shape for a man of forty-four, probably on account of all the sailing he did at Hyannis Port on Cape Cod, where he had a holiday home. He sat on the edge, then eased himself into the water with a sigh.

He swam for a few minutes. Maria wondered what her mother would say. Ma would disapprove of her daughter going swimming with a married man if he were anyone other than the president. But surely nothing bad could happen here, in the White House, in front of Dave Powers and Jenny and Jerry?

The president swam over to where she sat. “How are you getting on in the press office, Maria?” He asked this as if it were the most important question in the world.

“Fine, thank you, sir.”

“Is Pierre a good boss?”

“Very good. Everyone likes him.”

“I like him, too.”

This close, Maria could see the faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth, and the touch of gray in his thick red-brown hair. His eyes were not quite blue, she saw; more like hazel.

He knew she was scrutinizing him, she thought, and he did not mind. Perhaps he was used to it. Perhaps he liked it. He smiled and said: “What kind of work are you doing?”

“A mixture.” She was overwhelmingly flattered. Maybe he was just being nice, but he seemed genuinely interested in her. “Mostly I do research for Pierre. This morning I’ve been combing through a speech by Castro.”

“Rather you than me. His speeches are long!”

Maria laughed. In the back of her mind a voice said, The president is joking with me about Fidel Castro! In a swimming pool! She said: “Sometimes Pierre asks me to write a press release, which is the part I like best.”

“Tell him to give you more releases to write. You’re good at it.”

“Thank you, Mr. President. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

“You’re from Chicago, is that right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Where are you living now?”

“In Georgetown. I share an apartment with two girls who work in the State Department.”