“It’s classified.”

“Oh, the plot thickens. I love a good mystery. Spill.”

“No can do.”

“C’mon. I can keep a secret.”

Nora made a motion as if to zip her lips.

“Why would you invite me here just to tease me?” Anna pouted.

“I’m not trying to be difficult. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t tell you much.”

“You’ve got to give me something.”

Nora had to give Anna credit, she had a flair for the dramatic. “Okay. The letter I received came from Ernest Lawrence, himself.”

“Who’s Ernest Lawrence?”

“Who is…” Nora took a deep breath and willed herself to be patient. It wasn’t as though Anna kept up on the latest scientific discoveries. Her interests shaded to the arts and she wanted to be an actress.

“Ernest Lawrence invented a machine that won him the Nobel Prize in 1939.”

“That’s good, right?”

“That’s very, very good. He’s tops in the field.”

“What did he want? In the letter, I mean.”

“He asked me to come to work on something crucial to the war effort.”

“I always knew you’d do great things.” She winked at Nora. “Where are you going?”

Nora shrugged.

“C’mon. Surely you can at least tell me where you’re off to on this super-secret assignment.”

Nora shook her head. “They haven’t told me.”

“Wait a minute. So, you don’t know where you’re going and what you’ll do when you get there?” Anna’s eyes grew large and round.

“You make it sound—”

“Like you’ve lost your mind? Yeah. Because I’m pretty sure you have.”

“Shh.” Nora glanced around. “Keep your voice down.”

“You’re my best friend. It’s my job to tell you when you’ve gone cuckoo. And boy, have you. They could send you to…to…Minnesota or some other Godforsaken place.”

“Maybe.”

“How are you going to pack, if you don’t know what the weather will be?”

Leave it to Anna to be ever-practical. “I guess I’ll have to pack a little of everything and hope for the best.”

Anna stared at her a long time, long enough to make her squirm. “You’re really serious about this?”

“I’m more than serious. I’m going to do it. I’ve already sent a return letter accepting the offer of employment.”

“Does this fancy-schmancy job at least pay well?”

“Top dollar.” Nora breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Anna was coming around.

“What does your family think? Wait.” Anna held up a hand. “I don’t care what that no-account brother of yours thinks. What did your parents say? You’ve told them, right?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“They had much the same reaction as you. I think they would’ve had me committed if they could’ve worked it out and not had it bring shame on the family.”