surprise was that Sue had no interest in failing anyone. She had put together the course description to scare away parvenus. All she wanted with the rest of us was an interesting conversation.
So “Metaphor and Reality-Modeling in Literature and the Physical Sciences” became a kind of weekly salon, and the only requirement for a passing grade was that we demonstrate that we’d read her syllabus and that she must not be bored with what we said about it. For an easy mark all you had to do was ask Sue about her pet research topics (Calabi-Yau geometry, say, or the difference between prior and contextual forces); she would talk for twenty minutes and grade you on the plausibility of the rapt attention you displayed.
But Sue was fun to bullshit with, too, so mostly her classes were extended bull sessions. And by the end of the semester I had stopped seeing her as this six-foot-four-inch bug-eyed badly-dressed oddity and had begun to perceive the funny, fiercely intelligent woman she was.
I said, “Sue Chopra offered me a job.”
Janice turned to Whit and said, “One of the Cornell profs. Didn’t I see her name in the paper recently?”
Probably so, but that was awkward territory. “She’s part of a federally-funded research group. She has enough clout to hire help.”
“So she got in touch with
you
?”
Whit said, “That’s maybe not the kindest way to put it.”
“It’s okay, Whit. What Janice means is, what would a high-powered academic like Sulamith Chopra want with a keyboard hack like myself? It’s a fair question.”
Janice said, “And the answer is—?”
“I guess they wanted one more keyboard hack.”
“You told her you needed work?”
“Well, you know. We stay in touch.”
(I can find you when I need you, Scotty. Never fear.)
“Uh-huh,” Janice said, which was her way of telling me she knew I was lying. But she didn’t press.
“Well, that’s great, Scott,” Whit said. “These are tough times to be out of a job. So, that’s great.”
We said no more about it until the meal was finished and Whit had excused himself. Janice waited until he was out of earshot. “Something you’re not mentioning?”
Several things. I gave her one of them. “The job is in Baltimore.”
“Baltimore?”
“Baltimore. Maryland.”
“You mean you’re moving across the country?”
“If I get the job. It’s not for sure yet.”
“But you haven’t told Kaitlin.”
“No. I haven’t told Kaitlin. I wanted to talk to you about it first.”
“Uh-huh. Well, I don’t know what to say. I mean, this is really sudden. The question is how upset Kait will be. But I can’t answer that. No offense, but she doesn’t talk about you as much as she used to.”
“It’s not like I’ll be out of her life. We can visit.”
“Visiting isn’t parenting, Scott. Visiting is… an
uncle
thing. But I don’t know. Maybe that’s best. She and Whit are bonding pretty well.”
“Even if I’m out of town, I’m still her father.”
“Insofar as you ever were, yes, that’s true.”
“You sound angry.”
“I’m not. Just wondering whether I
should
be.”
Whit came back downstairs then, and we chatted some more, but the wind grew louder and hard snow ticked on the windows and Janice fretted out loud over the condition of the streets. So I said goodbye to Whit and Janice and waited at the door for Kait to give me her customary farewell hug.
She came into the foyer but stopped a few feet away. Her eyes were stormy and her lower lip was trembling.
“Kaity-bird?” I said.
“Please don’t call me that. I’m not a baby.”
Then I figured it out. “You were listening.”
Her hearing impairment didn’t prevent her from eavesdropping. If anything, it had made her stealthier and more curious.
“Hey,” she said, “it doesn’t matter. You’re moving away. That’s all right.”
Of all the things I could have said, what I chose was: “You shouldn’t listen in on other people’s
So “Metaphor and Reality-Modeling in Literature and the Physical Sciences” became a kind of weekly salon, and the only requirement for a passing grade was that we demonstrate that we’d read her syllabus and that she must not be bored with what we said about it. For an easy mark all you had to do was ask Sue about her pet research topics (Calabi-Yau geometry, say, or the difference between prior and contextual forces); she would talk for twenty minutes and grade you on the plausibility of the rapt attention you displayed.
But Sue was fun to bullshit with, too, so mostly her classes were extended bull sessions. And by the end of the semester I had stopped seeing her as this six-foot-four-inch bug-eyed badly-dressed oddity and had begun to perceive the funny, fiercely intelligent woman she was.
I said, “Sue Chopra offered me a job.”
Janice turned to Whit and said, “One of the Cornell profs. Didn’t I see her name in the paper recently?”
Probably so, but that was awkward territory. “She’s part of a federally-funded research group. She has enough clout to hire help.”
“So she got in touch with
you
?”
Whit said, “That’s maybe not the kindest way to put it.”
“It’s okay, Whit. What Janice means is, what would a high-powered academic like Sulamith Chopra want with a keyboard hack like myself? It’s a fair question.”
Janice said, “And the answer is—?”
“I guess they wanted one more keyboard hack.”
“You told her you needed work?”
“Well, you know. We stay in touch.”
(I can find you when I need you, Scotty. Never fear.)
“Uh-huh,” Janice said, which was her way of telling me she knew I was lying. But she didn’t press.
“Well, that’s great, Scott,” Whit said. “These are tough times to be out of a job. So, that’s great.”
We said no more about it until the meal was finished and Whit had excused himself. Janice waited until he was out of earshot. “Something you’re not mentioning?”
Several things. I gave her one of them. “The job is in Baltimore.”
“Baltimore?”
“Baltimore. Maryland.”
“You mean you’re moving across the country?”
“If I get the job. It’s not for sure yet.”
“But you haven’t told Kaitlin.”
“No. I haven’t told Kaitlin. I wanted to talk to you about it first.”
“Uh-huh. Well, I don’t know what to say. I mean, this is really sudden. The question is how upset Kait will be. But I can’t answer that. No offense, but she doesn’t talk about you as much as she used to.”
“It’s not like I’ll be out of her life. We can visit.”
“Visiting isn’t parenting, Scott. Visiting is… an
uncle
thing. But I don’t know. Maybe that’s best. She and Whit are bonding pretty well.”
“Even if I’m out of town, I’m still her father.”
“Insofar as you ever were, yes, that’s true.”
“You sound angry.”
“I’m not. Just wondering whether I
should
be.”
Whit came back downstairs then, and we chatted some more, but the wind grew louder and hard snow ticked on the windows and Janice fretted out loud over the condition of the streets. So I said goodbye to Whit and Janice and waited at the door for Kait to give me her customary farewell hug.
She came into the foyer but stopped a few feet away. Her eyes were stormy and her lower lip was trembling.
“Kaity-bird?” I said.
“Please don’t call me that. I’m not a baby.”
Then I figured it out. “You were listening.”
Her hearing impairment didn’t prevent her from eavesdropping. If anything, it had made her stealthier and more curious.
“Hey,” she said, “it doesn’t matter. You’re moving away. That’s all right.”
Of all the things I could have said, what I chose was: “You shouldn’t listen in on other people’s
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