I left Rosenthal’s office feeling a little like I had felt when fleeing the bar the previous evening, though this time I felt a little more like a bully. I didn’t feel bad about it.

e3 h6

Someplace along the way, philosophers (a troublesome tedious lot at best) strangely decided that we cannot directly perceive things—the material world, sidewalks, carpets, rivers—but only our ideas of these things. This was a move in thinking that happened quite casually, without proof, as is the wont of such people. Would that their assertion were true, then I would not be experiencing my daughter directly, but only the idea of my daughter and so only the idea of the condition that would kill her. If that were true, then I could manipulate my idea as I might a dream, change the world around me. Just a little thinking dismisses the idea of sense data. Where do the ideas come from? Is an idea real? Is there anything between the idea and my perception of it? This is what I was thinking about as I placed the final row of pawns onto the board.

Sarah was just home from school, in good spirits, though not cheery. She was eager to play our game. She always enjoyed reducing me to a king scampering hopelessly around the board.

“I see you’ve changed clothes,” I said to her as she took the seat across from me at the little table in the den.

“One needs loose-fitting clothes for close fighting.”

“Where’d you get that bit of wisdom?”

“From you.” Sarah made the first move. d4

I moved my knight. Nf6

After a couple of moves. “How was school?” I asked.

“School was school.” Bh4. “How was school?”

“School was school,” I said. c5

Meg walked into the room with a stack of papers.

“I see Mom brought school home with her,” I said.

“I am afraid that is true,” she said.

“Should we tell her?” I asked.

“Tell me what?” Sarah asked.

“You do it,” I said to Meg.

“Your father and I have only talked about it briefly, but how would you like to take a trip to Paris?”

“Paris? Are you joking?”

“No.”

Bd3

Bxc3

“I think we could all use a vacation,” I said. “A nice big vacation.” I looked at her face. She appeared genuinely excited, but it was muted. “Does that sound good?”

“Are you two playing while we talk about this?” Meg asked.

“No,” Sarah said. “We wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I hate both of you,” Meg said. “I have half a mind to read some of these poems to you. That’ll teach you.”

“Okay, we give up,” I said.

“Paris,” Sarah said. “Thank you.” She got up and hugged her mother. She then came to me.

“You might want to take that hug back after you see my next move.” d6