Rosemary gazed downward demurely. “I think I’ll take the Fifth on that.”

Mr. Z looked at his two acolytes, with their lowered heads, and sighed.

“All right. I feel like I owe you both an apology. I wrongly assumed that we were more comfortable with ourselves than we are. I wrongly thought we’d get to the Truth.”

“But I was saying the truth,” Arik objected, still wounded.

Mr. Z refused to meet his eye. “Now that we’ve reached a certain understanding, I’d like to inform you that next week we’re going to start you two kissing. That’s right, each other.” He caught the kids exchanging a look. “Look, we can’t have star-crossed lovers in our play who, when they finally get together, only want to hold hands and listen to Coldplay. Come on, people! When real soul mates hook up, you can’t tear them apart. That’s how I want you two to be.”

Arik reached for Rosemary’s hand to show Mr. Z he’d be a good sport about it and make up for disappointing him. She didn’t resist and let his clammy paw lie atop hers. A shiver of pleasure shot through her as he gently squeezed her hand, lightly running his thumb across her palm.

“That’s a good start,” Mr. Z nodded approvingly. “Free your mind and the rest will follow. Before you know it you’ll be rimming her.”

“Excuse me?” Arik dropped Rosemary’s hand.

“Oh, nothing. Just a mismanaged joke. My bad judgment. I apologize.” Mr. Z pointed at their hands. “Continue. Continue.”

As they locked up the Safe Room and prepared to leave, Mr. Z nursed a secret smile the entire time. His jangling keys echoed as he walked the kids through the empty Arts building.

“Do you guys know the meaning of the term terroir?” he asked.

“You mean, like, terror?” Arik said, as if it were a trick question.

“No, terroir. It’s French. It means territory or terrain, and it pertains to grapes that go into making wine. The idea is that grapes grown in one type of soil, in one location, receiving a certain amount of rain and sun, taste different than grapes of the same species that are grown in different soil, in a different location, and exposed to a different climate. It’s why Cabernets from Napa taste different from Cabs from Chile, or why Rieslings from Oregon are different from Rieslings from Alsace.”

Arik and Rosemary were straining to follow.

“In fact, vintners have noticed that a grape grown in one part of a vineyard could be more or less tannic than the same grape grown just two yards away.”

He saw the kids exchange glances.