She came in at twenty past six. “I knew you were home, ’cause you picked up the mail, and—” She stopped, staring. “You cut off your hair! And your beard!”

“’Fraid so. I didn’t want people to recognize me while I was going east. Do I get a kiss anyway?”

“That might be arranged,” Anna said and then, afterward, “You’re scratchy. Your mustache would tickle, but now you’re scratchy. You’d better shave again before you even think about sticking your face between my legs.”

“If I don’t fall asleep on you, babe, you got a deal.” Jerry turned on the broiler. “First dinner, then who knows what?”

“We’ll both find out. God, it’s good to see you!” She squeezed him.

He squeezed her, too. “It’s good to be seen. Oh, Lordy, is it ever good to be seen.”

Jerry phoned his advisor a little past nine the next morning. As soon as Professor Krikorian realized who was on the line, he said, “Now I know why they really wanted you on the Hughes Glomar Explorer!”

“Yeah, well, they lived to regret it,” Jerry answered.

“Did they? If it’s something you can tell me, did you have anything to do with our little adventure with the Russians last week? Has that got anything to do with why you missed your class day before yesterday?”

Like Anna, Hagop Krikorian could add two and two and come pretty close to four. “The fewer questions you ask me about any of that stuff, the better off we’ll both be,” Jerry said.

“I think you just told me what I wanted to know.”

“I didn’t tell you anything.” Jerry snapped his fingers as he thought of something else. “Oh! I may need to give up my TAship for this quarter. It looks like I’ll be going out to the Glomar Explorer again.” He didn’t mention that it wouldn’t be as part of the American team, any more than he had with his father.

“That’s very good for you. Congratulations! If you are going to give up the assistantship, please do it now, though. I’ll have an easier time finding a replacement close to the start of the quarter than I would four or five weeks in,” Krikorian said.

The request was reasonable. It annoyed Jerry anyway; it reminded him how grad students were easily replaceable parts in the university’s giant mill. “Uh, I’d guess I’d better,” he said. The Russians didn’t think he was an easily replaceable part: one more thing he didn’t mention.

“All right. I’ll get the paperwork started.” The professor hesitated, then asked, “You are still planning to finish your thesis?”