He looked at his wilted brown suit and agreed. He showered quickly, then changed into a polo shirt and a pair of jeans. He would have preferred wearing a T-shirt and shorts, but he knew Rina wasn’t wild about him wearing such informal clothing to a meal. A small sacrifice to make for a waiting meal and a willing woman. He pinned a yarmulke onto his hair and patted his stomach. His juices were flowing now, so much so that he almost managed to push aside the wretchedness of the day.

By the time he was outside, Rina was putting the trout on a serving plate.

“You can wash if you want,” she said.

“I’ll wait for you.”

Rina put the trout on the table and wiped her hands on a napkin. “Okay.”

They ritually washed their hands outside from a bucket of water that Rina had set up, then broke bread. Rina heaped three trout and mounds of salad and fruit on Decker’s paper plate as he sat there, a stupid grin on his face, thinking, I could get used to this. She poured him a beer, then served herself a half-piece of trout, half a baked potato, and fruit.

“Now I remember how you stay so thin,” Decker remarked. He noticed his voice had a slight lecherous tone. He gobbled down his first trout in three bites, and went to work on number two. “But I’m not complaining,” he continued. “More food for me. Although I wouldn’t mind if you’d fatten up a bit.”

“You think I’m too thin?” She opened up a can of soda.

“When I met you, you seemed a little more curvacious.”

“I was ten pounds heavier.”

“I didn’t mind,” Decker said. There it was. That same horny tone. He finished off half of his baked potato.

Rina smiled and speared a piece of watermelon. “Should I ask about your day?”

Decker shook his head.

Rina said, “Can I just ask if you found that little girl’s parents?”

Decker winced. “Yeah, we found them all right.”

His voice had tightened. Rina said, “Erase the tape. Forget I asked.”

Decker took a swig of beer and asked, “You visit your parents?”

“Erase that tape, too,” Rina said.

“So much for conversation,” Decker said, laughing.

“Well, I’ve got something interesting to tell you,” Rina said.

“What’s that?”

“I met an old friend of yours, today.”

“A friend of mine?”

“Abel Atwater,” Rina said.

Decker’s fork froze midair. He tried to keep his voice casual. “Really?”

“Yep, as you might say,” Rina said.

“How’d you meet him?” Decker asked. He lowered his fork.

“He was working in your barn, fixing the flooring, I think. He said he was in the army with you. I didn’t know you were in the army.”