“Tonight?”

That was ridiculous and we both knew it. It was almost dark.

“The first thing in the morning then.”

“Is Dad able to travel in the car?”

He had me again.

“Dad and Franny can fly back and you and I will drive.”

“Maybe I could drive back alone and you three could go by plane,” he said guilelessly.

“No thanks.”

“But who will look after Dad between the airport and home? Franny’s a little kid.”

“I’m surprised you remembered that.”

He blushed then and his lip trembled. He ran to me and clutched me.

“Oh, Mama, I’m so sorry,” he sobbed. “It started as a joke both times and that’s all it ever was with Franny, but I guess Stephanie thought I was serious . . .”

I hugged him. What else could I do? He was my little boy. It was going to become increasingly hard for me to remember that.

“There’s no point in crying over what happened, Duff,” I said. “We’ll just make sure it doesn’t happen again. We’ll take you to a doctor.”

“You mean a shrink? What for—I’m not crazy.” He pulled away from me and gripped my arms. “I don’t need a psychiatrist, Mother. All I need is your trust in me. Give me a chance to prove myself.”

“Why don’t you want to go back to Scarsdale, Duff?”

“I do eventually, of course. But I don’t want to go now, having failed you. Also, I’m doing some research here that I’d like to finish.”

“What kind of research?”

“On the Caine family. There’s a lot of fascinating material here on the family and the region. Lots about the Civil War too. I’m thinking of switching my college major from one of the sciences to history or sociology. What do you think, Mother?”

“I think there’s plenty of time to decide that.”

“How about it, Mama? Must we go back tomorrow?”

I hesitated. “I’ll talk some more with your father. However, you’ve got to understand that, whatever we decide, it won’t be in the nature of punishment, but rather what’s best for you. Also, there are others to be considered. Franny apparently wasn’t seriously harmed, thankfully, but what about Stephanie?”

“She wasn’t a virgin, Mama.”

I slapped him—hard. He began to weep again.

“Never mind what she was. You’ve violated her. You’ve taken something away from her—her dignity, if nothing else.”

“But, Mama, she wanted me to do it.”

“That’s not what your father says. Also it’s a sin.”

“I’m not sure I believe in things like that.”