Jonathan turned on the machine, sat back and made notes, letting the
recorder run uninterrupted. He made his notes, this time, on the
feelings he received from the words Easton used. When the first tape
was done, he put on the second.
Margery tapped at the door just as the third tape was ending. "In a
minute," he called, scribbling furiously. He turned off the machine,
put out his cigarette and went to lunch, feeling better than he had in
weeks.
Richie was at the kitchen sink, washing his hands.
"And next time," Margery was saying, "you wash up before you sit
down."
Richie blinked and watched Jonathan seat himself. "Daddy didn't wash
his hands," he said.
Margery fixed the six-year-old with a stern eye. "Richard, don't be
rude."
[Illustration]
"Well, he didn't." Richie sat down and reached for his glass of milk.
"Daddy probably washed before he came in," said Margery. She took the
cover off a tureen, ladled soup into bowls and passed sandwiches,
pretending not to see the ink-stained hand Jonathan was hiding in his
lap.
Jonathan, elated by the promise of success, ate three or four
sandwiches, had two bowls of soup and finally sat back while Margery
went to get coffee.
Richie slid part way off his chair, remembered, and slid back on
again. "Kin I go?" he asked.
"Please may I be excused," corrected his father.
* * * * *
Richie repeated, received a nod and ran out of the dinette and through
the kitchen, grabbing a handful of cookies on the way. The screen door
banged behind him as he raced into the backyard.
"Richie!" Margery started after him, eyes ablaze. Then she stopped and
came back to the table with the coffee. "That boy! How long does it
take before they get to be civilized?" Jonathan laughed. "Oh, sure,"
she went on, sitting down opposite him. "It's funny to you. But if you
were here all day long--" She stirred sugar into her cup. "We should
have sent him to camp, even if it would have wrecked the budget!"
"Oh? Is it that bad?"
Margery shuddered. "Sometimes he's a perfect angel, and then--It's
unbelievable, the things that child can think of! Sometimes I'm
convinced children are another species altogether! Why, only this
morning--"
"Well," Jonathan broke in, "next summer he goes to camp." He stood up
and stretched.