Once Kanani sat down, Selfer said to her, “Oh, dear, would you mind cracking a couple blinds, maybe a window or two?”

“I don’t see why I’d mind, no.”

Selfer watched Lett as Kanani turned the blinds to half open on each window—on each opposing wall. Lett eyed Selfer as Kanani pushed up the rear window a few fingers and cracked the front door for the slight breeze that came through.

“Lovely,” Selfer said. He lit up a Camel.

“It’s not exactly ‘soldier’ anymore,” Lett said to Selfer.

“Say again?” Selfer said.

“When you welcomed me back just now. You said ‘soldier.’”

“It’s only an expression. Care for a smoke?”

“Still don’t smoke, but thanks.”

“Why, not even one fortifying cigar?”

Lett just shook his head, he and Selfer still eyeing each other, Selfer crossing his legs, Lett bolt upright with his palms pressed to his thighs. The metal armchair was new and stiff, did not creak. Selfer stood and offered Kanani a cigarette as she came over.

“I’d take one of your cigars just the same,” she said.

Selfer smirked, a thin crimson line to match his raised eyebrow and imagined pencil mustache. “Say, there’s a lady who knows the score,” he said to Lett through a chiming chuckle as he opened a silver case that probably belonged, Lett figured, to some captured high German official who resorted to hanging himself after one Captain Selfer had extracted all the finest intelligence from the man with only sterling words and promises.

Kanani plucked a thin brown cigar from the case. She started to pull her gold lighter out but clamped her fist around it, concealing it, and tucked it away. She waited for Selfer’s light.

“Thank you, sir,” she said, batting eyelashes.

“Do enjoy. They’re Filipino.”

Selfer sat back and crossed his legs, wiped any ashes away, though there were none, then crushed his cigarette in the beanbag ashtray on the small table between them. He kept his limpid gray corneas on Lett. Kanani might as well have been out scrubbing the porch.

He said, “Miss Alana, could you please wait outside? Someone is coming for you now. You two will need to be separated.”

Lett and Kanani exchanged glances.

“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about,” Selfer added. “It’s just for now. Standard operating procedure. They’ll check you in, confirm you’re on the roster, the usual rigamarole.”

Kanani shrugged. She kept her cigar lit. “You’re gonna do great,” she said to Lett. “Bust ’em up.”

“Thank you. You too. See you soon.”

After Kanani left, Selfer showed Lett a sideways grin. “You two aren’t . . . are you?” He wagged fingers.

“What? No.”