He had moved to the reefer, uncapped a home-brew beer, and taken a large slug. From the fraternity across the street came a long-drawn wail: "Pedro..." Another house across the campus took up the traditional midterm howl: "Pedro..." Always after, the name would bring back the night.

“We could be friends,” he said, offering her the bottle.

She shook her head. “We’re lovers. I like it that way. And you don’t want to get married.”

“I didn’t,” he admitted. He had become used to making life-and-death decisions, instantly, in the carrier CIC. But they had always dealt with somebody else’s life. He hesitated. He decided that he loved her very much, more than the stupid dream. He took her back into his arms. “I mean I didn’t until just now. And I’m not going to let you get away.”

They married the next week in Reno, against Shawn’s wishes and of course against his father’s. For a semester Mitch fought it out in a trailer park, refusing to move to something bigger, using the GI bill and turning down his dad’s help and Shawn’s, out of perversity. He hung on in premed while Lindy got bigger and bigger. He was still slugging it out when Tony arrived.

Tony rejected all known formulae. He screamed for months. Mitch’s concentration wavered. He took to studying half the night in the library and the other half in his old fraternity room, while his ex-roommate snored. He found himself at 3 A.M. over an open book, worrying about Lindy and Tony in the trailer park. He began to study in the trailer again while Tony shrieked and Lindy tiptoed.

He got a D in an organic chemistry final and a C in French, ordinarily his best subject. His father died. The next semester he quit premed for prelaw.

She could never seem to get it straight that Tony, unborn, had saved his ass. He would probably have made a lousy doctor, and he was a good lawyer. He should be eternally grateful. Now Tony had his own life-and-death decisions to make and his father would be long gone when he made them.

Lindy was smoothing his bunk. “Hey, Tony’s known for years about how we got married!”

“I’ll be damned. From the dates?”

She nodded. “He’s decided we did it to be polite.”

“Son of a bitch! I’ll wax his ass!”

“No. He’s not that far wrong.”

“Come on, Lindy, that’s bullshit!"

“OK, I’m sorry. Anyway, I know he wouldn’t leave Nancy. So don’t feel guilty that we didn’t ask him.”

“Hell, I don’t feel guilty!"

“Good.” She fluffed out a pillow and kissed his forehead. “You’ve done your twenty years.”

Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15