Sons of Fortune

“I think the first girl I really took any serious interest in was called Rebecca. She was playing Olivia to my Sebastian in the school play.” He paused. “Is it Juliet you’re having the problem with?”

“Certainly not,” said Luke, “she’s dumb—pretty, but dumb.” This was followed by another long silence. “And how far did you and Rebecca go?” he finally asked.

“We kissed a little, if I remember,” said Nat, “and there was a little of what we used to call in those days petting.”

“Did you want to touch her breasts?”

“Sure did, but she wouldn’t let me. I didn’t get that far until our freshman year at college.”

“But did you love her, Dad?”

“I thought I did, but that bombshell didn’t truly hit me until I ran into your mother.”

“So was Mom the first person you made love to?”

“No, there had been a couple of other girls before her, one in Vietnam, and ano

ther while I was at college.”

“Did you get either of them pregnant?”

Nat moved across to the inside lane and fell well below the speed limit. He paused. “Have you got someone pregnant?”

“I don’t know,” said Luke, “and neither does Kathy, but when we were kissing behind the gym, I made a terrible mess all over her skirt.”

Fletcher spent another hour with his daughter before he drove back to Hartford. He enjoyed George’s company. Lucy had described him as the brightest kid in the class. “That’s why I chose him as my campaign manager,” she explained.

Fletcher was back in Hartford an hour later, and when he walked into Harry’s hospital room the tableau hadn’t changed. He sat down next to Annie and took her hand.

“Any improvement?” he asked.

“No, nothing,” said Annie, “he hasn’t stirred since you left. How about Lucy?”

“A complete fraud, as I told her. She’ll be in a plaster cast for around six weeks, which doesn’t seem to have cramped her style; in fact she seems convinced it will help her chances of becoming class president.”

“Did you tell her about Grandpa?”

“No, and I had to bluff a little when she asked where you were.”

“Where was I?”

“Chairing a meeting of the school board.”

Annie nodded. “True, just the wrong day.”

“By the way, did you know she had a boyfriend?” asked Fletcher.

“Do you mean George?”

“You’ve met George?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t have described him as a boyfriend,” said Annie, “more a devoted slave.”

“I thought Lincoln abolished slavery in 1863?” said Fletcher.

Annie turned to face her husband, “Did it worry you?” she asked.

“Certainly not, Lucy’s got to have a boyfriend sooner or later.”