thinking anything that hurt
Cal
was a good idea.
Cynthie nodded. "In order to move from infatuation to attachment,
Cal
will have to feel joy or pain when he's with Min. The joy could be great conversation or great sex, the pain could be jealousy, frustration, fear, almost anything that adds stress. The pain cue is the reason there are so many wartime romances. And office romances."
"Right," David said, remembering an intern from his earlier years.
"But I don't think that's going to happen tonight. I think he's going to be bored. I must say that it's a great comfort to know that your Min is dull and frigid."
"I didn't say she was dull and frigid," David said. "I wouldn't date somebody who was dull and frigid."
"Then you should have stuck it out," Cynthie said. "Infatuation lasts anywhere from six months to three years, and you can't know you've found the right person until you've worked your way through it. You quit at two months so you couldn't have reached attachment and neither could she." She shrugged. "Mistake."
"Six months to
three years
?" David said. "And you pushed
Cal
after nine months?" He shrugged. "Mistake."
Cynthie put down her fork. "Not a mistake. I know
Cal
, I have written articles on
Cal
, and he is in the attachment stage, we both are."
David stopped eating, appalled. "You wrote about your lover?"
"Well, I didn't call him by his real name," Cynthie said. "And I didn't say he was
my
lover."
"Isn't that unethical?"
"No." Cynthie pushed her plate away, most of her dinner untouched. "That's how we met. I'd heard about him through a couple of my clients. He had quite a reputation."
"I know," David said, thinking vicious thoughts about Cal Morrisey, God's Gift to Women. "Totally undeserved."
"Are you kidding?" Cynthie said. "I was
studying
him, and he got me." Her mouth curved again. "Nature gave him that face and body, and his parents gave him conditional affection as a child. He's been trained to please people to get approval, and the people he likes to please most are women, who are more than willing to be pleased by him because he looks the way he does. So his looks guarantee assumption and his charm guarantees attraction. He's one of the most elegant adaptive solutions I've ever observed. The papers I wrote on him got
a lot
of attention."
David tried to picture Cal Morrisey as a child, trying to earn affection. All he could come up with was a good-looking dark-haired kid in a tuxedo, leaning on a swing set and smiling confidently at little girls. "Did he know you wrote papers on him?"
"No," Cynthie said. "He still doesn't. He never will. I finished that work, it's over. I'm writing a book now, already under contract. It's almost done." She smiled, a satisfied feline smile. "The point is, I'm not some silly woman moaning, 'But I thought he loved me,' I have clinical proof he does love me. And he'll come back to me soon, as long as your Min doesn't distract him."
"So," David said, leaning closer. "If we wanted to make sure they didn't get to—what was it? Attraction?—what would we do?"
Cynthie's eyes widened. "Do?" She put her wineglass down and thought about it. "Well, I suppose we could talk to their friends and families, poison the well, so to speak. And we could offer them joy in different forms to counteract whatever happens between them. But that wouldn't be ... David, we don't have to do anything.
Cal
loves me."
"Right," David said, sitting back.
Family
, he thought.
I have an in with the family
.
Cynthie smiled at him. "I'm tired of talking about them," she said. "What is it that you do for a living?"
David thought,
It's about time we got to me
. He said, "I'm in software development," and watched her eyes glaze over.
Outside Emilio's, Min took a deep breath of summer night air and thought,
I'm happy
. Evidently great food was an antidote to rage and humiliation. Good to know for the future.
Then
Cal
came out and said, "Where's your car?" and broke her mood.
"No car,"
Cal
was a good idea.
Cynthie nodded. "In order to move from infatuation to attachment,
Cal
will have to feel joy or pain when he's with Min. The joy could be great conversation or great sex, the pain could be jealousy, frustration, fear, almost anything that adds stress. The pain cue is the reason there are so many wartime romances. And office romances."
"Right," David said, remembering an intern from his earlier years.
"But I don't think that's going to happen tonight. I think he's going to be bored. I must say that it's a great comfort to know that your Min is dull and frigid."
"I didn't say she was dull and frigid," David said. "I wouldn't date somebody who was dull and frigid."
"Then you should have stuck it out," Cynthie said. "Infatuation lasts anywhere from six months to three years, and you can't know you've found the right person until you've worked your way through it. You quit at two months so you couldn't have reached attachment and neither could she." She shrugged. "Mistake."
"Six months to
three years
?" David said. "And you pushed
Cal
after nine months?" He shrugged. "Mistake."
Cynthie put down her fork. "Not a mistake. I know
Cal
, I have written articles on
Cal
, and he is in the attachment stage, we both are."
David stopped eating, appalled. "You wrote about your lover?"
"Well, I didn't call him by his real name," Cynthie said. "And I didn't say he was
my
lover."
"Isn't that unethical?"
"No." Cynthie pushed her plate away, most of her dinner untouched. "That's how we met. I'd heard about him through a couple of my clients. He had quite a reputation."
"I know," David said, thinking vicious thoughts about Cal Morrisey, God's Gift to Women. "Totally undeserved."
"Are you kidding?" Cynthie said. "I was
studying
him, and he got me." Her mouth curved again. "Nature gave him that face and body, and his parents gave him conditional affection as a child. He's been trained to please people to get approval, and the people he likes to please most are women, who are more than willing to be pleased by him because he looks the way he does. So his looks guarantee assumption and his charm guarantees attraction. He's one of the most elegant adaptive solutions I've ever observed. The papers I wrote on him got
a lot
of attention."
David tried to picture Cal Morrisey as a child, trying to earn affection. All he could come up with was a good-looking dark-haired kid in a tuxedo, leaning on a swing set and smiling confidently at little girls. "Did he know you wrote papers on him?"
"No," Cynthie said. "He still doesn't. He never will. I finished that work, it's over. I'm writing a book now, already under contract. It's almost done." She smiled, a satisfied feline smile. "The point is, I'm not some silly woman moaning, 'But I thought he loved me,' I have clinical proof he does love me. And he'll come back to me soon, as long as your Min doesn't distract him."
"So," David said, leaning closer. "If we wanted to make sure they didn't get to—what was it? Attraction?—what would we do?"
Cynthie's eyes widened. "Do?" She put her wineglass down and thought about it. "Well, I suppose we could talk to their friends and families, poison the well, so to speak. And we could offer them joy in different forms to counteract whatever happens between them. But that wouldn't be ... David, we don't have to do anything.
Cal
loves me."
"Right," David said, sitting back.
Family
, he thought.
I have an in with the family
.
Cynthie smiled at him. "I'm tired of talking about them," she said. "What is it that you do for a living?"
David thought,
It's about time we got to me
. He said, "I'm in software development," and watched her eyes glaze over.
Outside Emilio's, Min took a deep breath of summer night air and thought,
I'm happy
. Evidently great food was an antidote to rage and humiliation. Good to know for the future.
Then
Cal
came out and said, "Where's your car?" and broke her mood.
"No car,"
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