“What do we have to lose?” Jack said. “We can sell or not, as we choose, in six months, and meanwhile we’re getting a thousand a month for staying here.”

“I still don’t like it. The school year is coming on.”

“Stephanie says there are good schools in Cainesville.”

“Stephanie!”

Jack laughed. “See, I knew you were jealous. Cheer up, Maggie. I’ll have the cast off and Stephanie will be gone in a couple more weeks. And do you realize how little we’re paying that girl and what the same kind of nursing care would cost us at home?”

It was true, I had to admit. And I also knew that, in our present situation, it would have been foolish to pass up what seemed to be found money, considering that it also seemed Jack was never going to earn any money again.

Duff was all for calling the agent back immediately and accepting the offer. Franny still didn’t seem to care one way or another.

“This place is fascinating,” Duff said. “I’m learning a lot about the family and the area, but I’ll need at least six months to read all the material upstairs.”

“Why don’t you all drive over to Cainesville and look at the schools,” Jack said. “That won’t cost anything.”

So Duff, Franny and I went to Cainesville and visited the elementary school and the high school, summer classes being in session at both places. The elementary school seemed adequate, but I was less impressed by the high school. For one thing, the science facilities were minimal. However Duff reminded me that he had completed all his obligatory lab work anyway and the chemistry and physics textbooks used at Cainesville High were very similar to those used at Scarsdale. He also made the point that six months would include only one semester and that at the end of that time he and Franny could go back to their old schools if we so decided.

Back at the farm, I phoned Dr. Raphael in New York and asked what he thought of Jack’s staying for six months in this out-­of-­the-­way place. He said that off the top of his head he thought it would be great for Jack to be anywhere away from stress and pollution. Then he agreed to check on the cardiology situation at Ashland Hospital and call me back, which he did within half an hour. It turned out that the man in charge at Ashland had excellent credentials and was a friend of a friend of Dr. Raphael’s.

Therefore it was decided. Jack called the real estate man and accepted the offer; Duff drove to the post office and mailed the keys; and I went to bed with a headache.