David found himself plotting as he loaded the dishwasher. If Jack and Laura were a success, Constance might grow accustomed enough to them … but he mustn’t push ahead further than he was. If Diana got the faintest whiff of anything afoot that smelled to her of liberation, they would all be banished. Whatever enriching of her life came to her through David must be seen as as much of a gift to Constance as to herself. And so it should be.

David could see for himself what real contentment they shared, and unlike David, Diana did read—there was evidence of that everywhere, not only on the bookshelves. There was always a book by her chair, and there was one on top of the flour canister here in the kitchen. They were not novels. She read history and biography, and she also had a taste for those scientists like Loren Eisley who could make their fields intelligible to the general reader. Obviously Diana was used to turning to books rather than people for sustained thought. On the whole, books would be more satisfying, but it was too narrow a human world they had retreated into. As far as David could find out, they had very few friends.

He had to go on being careful and patient. Though he knew tonight marked a new acceptance of his place here, the reassurance must not make him reckless.

‘Will you try Frangelico with coffee?’ David asked when he’d finished cleaning up.

‘Why not?’ Constance said.

‘But you mustn’t get us into bad habits,’ Diana said.

‘I don’t think we’d make riproaring drunks,’ Constance said. ‘We’d be more inclined to stupor.’

‘By the way,’ David said as they sat enjoying their liqueurs, ‘I’ve got my own phone. Remind me to leave you the number.’

On that phone David called Laura as soon as he got home.

‘What night next week could you and Jack go with me to have a drink with Diana and Constance?

‘We can meet them?’ Laura asked.

‘That’s right,’ David said.

‘Oh, Daddy, I’m so pleased.’

And she really did sound pleased. In his excitement, David heard himself telling her all over again what she already knew about Constance’s peculiarities, about Diana’s abruptness, all the while really wanting to sound reassuring.

‘You’re not going to scare me off, you know,’ Laura said. ‘I really do want to go, and so does Jack.’

‘It’s just that it may be a little awkward at first, and I don’t want that to discourage you.’

‘It won’t,’ Laura assured him.

‘Will you tell Mary you’re going?’

‘Oh, you know Mary. When she wants to know, she’ll ask.’

‘I thought she’d decided against that line,’ David said.

‘She had to try it on me first.’