quietly and resolutely. Now and then he’d surprise Lou with a sudden gush of trivia relating to the ark, but otherwise he kept a low profile, afraid he’d alienate those around him with his obsession. Like Gene, Jim was becoming hooked on the mystery and resolved not to let it go. Now, twenty years after the mystery had been planted in his mind, he was inches away from solving it, or so he thought.
Kas sensed a change in Jim after Gene’s first phone call. She thought it spooky that events were coming together in a kind of pattern. She didn’t believe in predestination or fate. The events of the Bible were light years from her daily routine. Jim, on the other hand, was consumed by the subject. Always curious, he had an angle on almost any subject from UFOs to natural history. Kas didn’t discourage him. His imagination and sense of wonder had put plenty of bread on the table.
This was different. The Bible was being shoved under her nose fairly regularly now. The angry God in the Old Testament was becoming omnipresent in their life. Now Jim was using most of his spare time on research, usually off by himself and working very late.
“He isn’t seeing other women, at least,” Claire noted when Kas confided to her about it, but Kas found little encouragement in those words. Jim had always been loyal. It was her husband’s sanity that might be at stake. The more he obsessed about it, the more concerned she became.
“Last night in bed he discussed the Ten Commandments,” she told Claire. “What kind of bedroom talk is that?”
Claire suggested that Jim might be having some kind of crisis. “It happens, Kas,” she said. “The brain is an organ too. Sometimes it needs fixing.”
“He’s not crazy, if that’s what you mean,” Kas grumbled. “He’s just obsessed.”
This was true. Jim would be the first to admit it, and it bothered him as much as it did Kas. The subject was always there, like a pool of gasoline, waiting to be set alight by the merest spark.
#
Exactly a month after their initial meeting, Gene contacted Jim again. He wanted to set up a meeting with Jim and the lawyer, John Wilcox.
Jim balked at first, saying he had mouths to feed and couldn’t just run off on a lark, but Gene insisted and pointed out that this would eventually be a paid project.
“Paid?” said Jim to his studio’s speakerphone.
“Of course,” said Gene, adding that Jim and Kas were invited to come to the Wilcox estate the next weekend. Wilcox would pay for Jim’s time, if that was necessary, and he wanted to meet the family. Gene described the man’s estate as a monument to greenness. “Wilcox wanted me to tell you that you can sleep in the main house or in the dome by the waterfall, or the teepee in the deep woods. He says the teepee has a hot tub.”
Lou was in the next room listening to the conversation. “That gave you a smile, I bet. Eh, sport?” he said when he heard Jim sign off. “All this and the ark, too.”
“You wanna come, too?” asked Jim, hoping that a little altruism on his part might improve Lou’s attitude toward the subject.
“Sure,” said Lou. “Can I bring Claire?”
Jim’s offer had backfired. Now he had to impose on Gene and his friend to invite more guests to the estate, but Lou was his closest friend and Jim felt good about having him along. It wouldn’t hurt to have witnesses. After all, they were going to visit a lawyer.
#
The Ford pulled out of Jim’s driveway at eight a.m., March the first, with Jim driving and Lou riding shotgun. In the back seat sat Claire and Kas, full of conversation about the Philadelphia Flower Show they’d visited the week before. That was the last time they’d seen each other so they had some catching up to do.
Jim was pleased to have Lou beside him. Now, with his friend as a captive listener, he might be able to discuss some concerns he had about the ark project.
“Mount Kisco,” said Lou. “Who do I know from there?”
“All I
Kas sensed a change in Jim after Gene’s first phone call. She thought it spooky that events were coming together in a kind of pattern. She didn’t believe in predestination or fate. The events of the Bible were light years from her daily routine. Jim, on the other hand, was consumed by the subject. Always curious, he had an angle on almost any subject from UFOs to natural history. Kas didn’t discourage him. His imagination and sense of wonder had put plenty of bread on the table.
This was different. The Bible was being shoved under her nose fairly regularly now. The angry God in the Old Testament was becoming omnipresent in their life. Now Jim was using most of his spare time on research, usually off by himself and working very late.
“He isn’t seeing other women, at least,” Claire noted when Kas confided to her about it, but Kas found little encouragement in those words. Jim had always been loyal. It was her husband’s sanity that might be at stake. The more he obsessed about it, the more concerned she became.
“Last night in bed he discussed the Ten Commandments,” she told Claire. “What kind of bedroom talk is that?”
Claire suggested that Jim might be having some kind of crisis. “It happens, Kas,” she said. “The brain is an organ too. Sometimes it needs fixing.”
“He’s not crazy, if that’s what you mean,” Kas grumbled. “He’s just obsessed.”
This was true. Jim would be the first to admit it, and it bothered him as much as it did Kas. The subject was always there, like a pool of gasoline, waiting to be set alight by the merest spark.
#
Exactly a month after their initial meeting, Gene contacted Jim again. He wanted to set up a meeting with Jim and the lawyer, John Wilcox.
Jim balked at first, saying he had mouths to feed and couldn’t just run off on a lark, but Gene insisted and pointed out that this would eventually be a paid project.
“Paid?” said Jim to his studio’s speakerphone.
“Of course,” said Gene, adding that Jim and Kas were invited to come to the Wilcox estate the next weekend. Wilcox would pay for Jim’s time, if that was necessary, and he wanted to meet the family. Gene described the man’s estate as a monument to greenness. “Wilcox wanted me to tell you that you can sleep in the main house or in the dome by the waterfall, or the teepee in the deep woods. He says the teepee has a hot tub.”
Lou was in the next room listening to the conversation. “That gave you a smile, I bet. Eh, sport?” he said when he heard Jim sign off. “All this and the ark, too.”
“You wanna come, too?” asked Jim, hoping that a little altruism on his part might improve Lou’s attitude toward the subject.
“Sure,” said Lou. “Can I bring Claire?”
Jim’s offer had backfired. Now he had to impose on Gene and his friend to invite more guests to the estate, but Lou was his closest friend and Jim felt good about having him along. It wouldn’t hurt to have witnesses. After all, they were going to visit a lawyer.
#
The Ford pulled out of Jim’s driveway at eight a.m., March the first, with Jim driving and Lou riding shotgun. In the back seat sat Claire and Kas, full of conversation about the Philadelphia Flower Show they’d visited the week before. That was the last time they’d seen each other so they had some catching up to do.
Jim was pleased to have Lou beside him. Now, with his friend as a captive listener, he might be able to discuss some concerns he had about the ark project.
“Mount Kisco,” said Lou. “Who do I know from there?”
“All I
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