bolt of cloth as those clinchpoops you ran into back in med school.” Cleo favored vintage terms of endearment, too. “Besides, he’s too old for you.”
“I don’t care if he’s forty or four hundred, Clee. I’m not interested. Not the way you mean, anyway.”
“Well, he’s interested in you.”
Kate just shook her head and veered off into the workroom, leaving Cleo heading for the stairs to the second floor.
By the time Max showed up it was finally beginning tosink in—Dave had actually said yes. She was going to see Tashat as she really was. What excited her most, though, was the realization that she would be able to re-create Tashat as she once actually looked, without all the guesswork that had clouded her vision for the past two months. Not one of those vacant-eyed mannequins either, she told herself, thinking of the forensic heads she’d seen, some so impersonal their own mothers wouldn’t recognize them.
“Boy, am I glad your friend is on our side!” was Max’s first comment.
“Me too.” Kate had to smile despite a new worry that had occurred to her—that they might learn something she didn’t want to know. Something that would put the lie to Tashat’s cartonnage portrait and destroy the young woman who had begun to come alive in Kate’s head. A kind of second death.
“Was it my imagination, or is something going on between those two?”
“You might call it that.”
He shrugged. “Thought that was a wedding ring he had on.”
“So what else is new?” Kate responded, hoping he would drop the subject.
He did. For a minute Max pretended a consuming interest in the little wooden lion she kept on the corner of her drawing table because she liked being able to reach out and physically touch a time long past. Now he pulled the knotted string, making the lion’s jaws open and close, until the silence began to feel uncomfortable.
When she caught Max glancing at his watch, she blurted out, “When are—” just as he said, “Would you—”
“Sorry,” he apologized. “I was going to ask if you’d like to have dinner with me.” She wondered if Cleo might be right, until he explained why. “I’ve got a few questions, thought I might try to get a better handle on what we’re likely to run into Sunday. I brought my laptop with me and plan to plug into Medline before then, see what I can find in the literature. If you’re busy that’s okay. It’s not important.”
It was to Kate. “No, I’d like to. But I need to go home first—” She stopped, remembering how much he seemed to enjoy tossing that little bombshell back in Dave’s office. “To fix Sam’s supper. He gets upset when I’m late too many nights in a row.”
Max looked confused, then apologetic. “That’s okay, we can let it go.”
“Why don’t you come with me? It’s only a few blocks from here. So close I even walk to work most of the time, or else jog. But not today. That way we wouldn’t have to take both cars.” She could tell by the way he hunched his shoulders that he was backing away. Closing a door. “Besides, meeting you would be a real treat for Sam. You two have a lot in common.”
“Sure,” he agreed. “Be glad for him to come along if he’d like.”
Kate shook her head. “He’d only be bored. Besides, he needs to learn that throwing a temper tantrum won’t get me to stay home.”
Kate drove into the driveway of her rented brick bungalow, then waited on the front porch while Max parked at the curb. It was ominously quiet inside, too quiet, making her wonder what Sam was doing. As Max came up the steps, she pushed the door open and called, “Sam? Where are you?”
The dog came shooting out of the bedroom hallway, made a beeline straight for Kate, and slid to a stop against her ankles. Then, wagging his tail with pure delight, he put his forepaws on her knees and leaned his head into her hands.
“I brought a friend home to meet you.” She patted his chest, a signal for him to get
“I don’t care if he’s forty or four hundred, Clee. I’m not interested. Not the way you mean, anyway.”
“Well, he’s interested in you.”
Kate just shook her head and veered off into the workroom, leaving Cleo heading for the stairs to the second floor.
By the time Max showed up it was finally beginning tosink in—Dave had actually said yes. She was going to see Tashat as she really was. What excited her most, though, was the realization that she would be able to re-create Tashat as she once actually looked, without all the guesswork that had clouded her vision for the past two months. Not one of those vacant-eyed mannequins either, she told herself, thinking of the forensic heads she’d seen, some so impersonal their own mothers wouldn’t recognize them.
“Boy, am I glad your friend is on our side!” was Max’s first comment.
“Me too.” Kate had to smile despite a new worry that had occurred to her—that they might learn something she didn’t want to know. Something that would put the lie to Tashat’s cartonnage portrait and destroy the young woman who had begun to come alive in Kate’s head. A kind of second death.
“Was it my imagination, or is something going on between those two?”
“You might call it that.”
He shrugged. “Thought that was a wedding ring he had on.”
“So what else is new?” Kate responded, hoping he would drop the subject.
He did. For a minute Max pretended a consuming interest in the little wooden lion she kept on the corner of her drawing table because she liked being able to reach out and physically touch a time long past. Now he pulled the knotted string, making the lion’s jaws open and close, until the silence began to feel uncomfortable.
When she caught Max glancing at his watch, she blurted out, “When are—” just as he said, “Would you—”
“Sorry,” he apologized. “I was going to ask if you’d like to have dinner with me.” She wondered if Cleo might be right, until he explained why. “I’ve got a few questions, thought I might try to get a better handle on what we’re likely to run into Sunday. I brought my laptop with me and plan to plug into Medline before then, see what I can find in the literature. If you’re busy that’s okay. It’s not important.”
It was to Kate. “No, I’d like to. But I need to go home first—” She stopped, remembering how much he seemed to enjoy tossing that little bombshell back in Dave’s office. “To fix Sam’s supper. He gets upset when I’m late too many nights in a row.”
Max looked confused, then apologetic. “That’s okay, we can let it go.”
“Why don’t you come with me? It’s only a few blocks from here. So close I even walk to work most of the time, or else jog. But not today. That way we wouldn’t have to take both cars.” She could tell by the way he hunched his shoulders that he was backing away. Closing a door. “Besides, meeting you would be a real treat for Sam. You two have a lot in common.”
“Sure,” he agreed. “Be glad for him to come along if he’d like.”
Kate shook her head. “He’d only be bored. Besides, he needs to learn that throwing a temper tantrum won’t get me to stay home.”
Kate drove into the driveway of her rented brick bungalow, then waited on the front porch while Max parked at the curb. It was ominously quiet inside, too quiet, making her wonder what Sam was doing. As Max came up the steps, she pushed the door open and called, “Sam? Where are you?”
The dog came shooting out of the bedroom hallway, made a beeline straight for Kate, and slid to a stop against her ankles. Then, wagging his tail with pure delight, he put his forepaws on her knees and leaned his head into her hands.
“I brought a friend home to meet you.” She patted his chest, a signal for him to get
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