Equivocal Death by Amy Gutman Page A

been so frazzled ort 34
    at work, Kate would have vetoed this choice, the latest in the reg 35
    seemingly endless array of fluorescent-lit nonfat nondairy restau-9858_01_003-152_r5hb.qxd 9/28/00 3:57 PM Page 39
    E Q U I V O C A L D E A T H
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    rants that Tara patronized these days. Kate wondered privately 1
    how any of them stayed in business. Tara’s strange affinity for soy 2
    products and bitter greens could not be so widely shared.
    3
    “Okay,” Kate mumbled, trying not to sound sulky. After all, she 4
    hadn’t seen Tara in weeks. She could at least try to be polite. “The 5
    cabbage salad with carrot dressing and the, uh, shrimp tempura.
    6
    No tofu, though.”
    7
    “No tofu?” The waiter raised a pierced eyebrow. Kate could see 8
    that he’d sized her up for what she was: a meat eater who wouldn’t 9
    recognize a vegan dumpling if it bit her.
    10
    “I’ll take her tofu,” Tara volunteered.
    11
    The waiter looked grateful. “And what would you like?” He 12
    turned to Tara, seemingly relieved to be done with Kate.
    13
    “I’ll have the tempeh primavera, and the seaweed salad to start,”
    14
    Tara said.
    15
    “Cool.” He headed toward the tiny open kitchen at the back of 16
    the cramped dining space. It was early, a little after six. Kate and 17
    Tara had the place almost to themselves.
    18
    Settling back in her seat, smoothing her tailored skirt, Kate was 19
    struck by how odd they must look together. She in her fitted suit 20
    and lawyerly horn-rimmed glasses, Tara in full bohemian regalia.
    21
    Tonight, Tara was wearing a long batik skirt with a baggy moth-22
    eaten sweater. Her red curls were lassoed back with a velvet band, 23
    while stray tendrils fell over her forehead and cheeks. Silver ear-24
    rings hung just above her shoulders. It was hard to imagine that she 25
    and Tara had once traded clothing so often they’d sometimes lost 26
    track of an item’s owner. College seemed very long ago.
    27
    “What’s with the Woodstock refugee look?” Kate asked wryly.
    28
    “What’s with the corporate clone look?”
    29
    Kate laughed. “Touché.”
    30
    “If I showed up for an assignment dressed like you, people would 31
    fear for my sanity,” Tara said. An aspiring novelist, Tara had spent 32
    two years in a low-level publishing job before opting for the free-33
    lance life. She wrote for a baffling array of women’s magazines 34 sh
    on subjects ranging from fake eyelashes to sexual politics. Kate of-35 re

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    A M Y G U T M A N
    1
    ten stumbled on Tara’s bylines while waiting to have her nails 2
    done.
    3
    “Seitan.” Kate mused. “I always forget what that is.”
    4
    Tara raised her eyebrows. “You just want me to describe it so you 5
    can tell me how repulsive it sounds. And really, it’s delicious. Not 6
    to mention being packed with protein.”
    7
    “Anything that looks and tastes that disgusting better be packed 8
    with something to justify its existence as a food product.”
    9
    “How do you know how it looks and tastes if you don’t even re-10
    member what it is?”
    11
    “Deductive logic. Based on my extensive observation of your 12
    dietary habits.”
    13
    “Very funny.”
    14
    Kate grinned. The familiar banter was a perfect antidote to the 15
    tensions of the past two days.
    16
    “I’ve missed you, Tara.”
    17
    “Well, it’s been a long time. You left town before Christmas, and 18
    I hadn’t seen you for weeks before that. Not that I’m counting.”
    19
    “It’s not exactly like I have a choice, you know,” Kate said. She 20
    felt a twinge of annoyance. Why did Tara always have to start in on 21
    her schedule? “That’s just how Samson is. It’s the same for everyone.”
    22
    Tara was about to respond when the waiter appeared with their 23
    meals. As he set down the steaming plates, Kate noted with satis-24
    faction that her meal bore a marked resemblance to genuine edible 25
    food. Tara, on the other hand,