“I don’t think you really care about the kind of man the school is supposed to create. I don’t think you really worry about a day coming when everyone follows the rules, and is polite to everyone no matter what, and newbs have more rights than the hardest sixth-formers, and it’s summer camp for rich kids.”

A clamp of rage ejected the words out of Ben.

“Dude, I’m Teddy Weeks’s brother. I come from a heritage of that shit. My family fucking established the codes you’re just discovering.”

“Sorry?”

“You think I don’t know how to do that? Is that what you’re saying, that I can’t carry on that heritage?”

“I don’t—”

“Next Sunday, we’re going to Boston to buy. We’re going to get people seriously wet. Get money together from your Woodruff crew for what they want, and we’ll go.”

“All right.” Hutch had always hoped that Ben would be a conduit to the legendary. “You’ll know where to go?”

“Of course I know.”

“All right.”

*  *  *

Ben called home, and exhaled with relief when his mom answered. Each of them reported that everything was fine. Ben let a pause arise.

“Listen, I know money’s…”

“Ach, I know. I’m sorry.”

“But would you be able to put a hundred dollars in my account?”

She was quiet before she could stop herself from being quiet.

“Sure, of course. I know, it must be hard not to—” she began.

“I want to take a girl out to dinner.”

“Oh my gosh, little bird, that’s so exciting! Tell me about her!”

“She’s a class ahead of me.”

“Look at you! Okay, so what’s she like?”

“I mean, she’s cool.”

She laughed. “Cool how? Give me something concrete.”

“Just…You just don’t have to act around her. She’s really good at photography. She’s learning Japanese, and she’s just really cool.” Ben thought about Alice’s smell, and whether in his life he would ever try to describe someone’s smell to another person.

Helen asked what she looked like, and she could hear in Ben’s response about her hair and height that he wished she hadn’t asked, and it was as though she could see his shoulders turn from her.

Ben said, “Remind me how you and Dad met again?”

Her laugh crossed a span of so many years. “He was just out of business school. I worked typing papers for some of his business school friends.” She paused to consider whether Ben was too young. “I was actually engaged to one of his classmates. We met at a party my fiancé was throwing.”

“Really?” Ben laughed.