caduceus pin, but so far no one had made contact with him. Still, all three members of the committee had seen the pin on his clinic coat, and he sensed that before much longer Caduceus would make its requirements known to him.
A pretty blonde in spike heels and a skintight red dress caught his eye and sashayed over to him.
'Hi. My name's Wendy. You looking' for a date?' she asked.
'Huh? Oh, no. That's a really nice invitation, Wendy, but no thanks.
I'm waiting for someone.'
'She this hot?' The woman gestured to her body.
Beneath her excessive makeup, Eric saw, was a girl still in her mid-teens.
'Maybe not,' he said, stifling the urge to ask her the what's-a-nice-girl-like-you question, or to lecture her on the importance of safe'sex. 'But tonight I think she's all I can handle.'
The prostitute struck a pose and folded down her lower lip in an exaggerated pout.
'Your loss,' he said. 'You're real cute. I could give you a hell of a time at a hell of price.'
'Thanks, Wendy, but no thanks.'
'Suit yourself.'
She scanned the lobby and set her sights on a man who was buried behind a newspaper.
'Hi, friend,' Eric heard her say. She pushed down the top of the paper with one finger and peeked over.
'Looking for a date?'
'Beat it.' The man, wearing sneakers and a tan windbreaker, snapped the paper back over his face.
'Suit yourself,' Wendy said.
The prostitute retreated to her post just as the elevators opened and Laura stepped out. She had on a long gmy sweater over jeans, and carried a trenchcoat over one arm. Her sable hair was tied back with a clip, and she moved with the ease and grace of a natural athlete. She was even lovelier than Eric had remembered.
'Sorry to keep you waiting,' she said.
'No problem.' He stumbled getting up from his chair. 'You look great.'
'Thanks. It's amazing what twenty miles a day of tless walking can do.'
'No success?'
'Not unless you count a hundred or so 'hey, baby's,' ten requests for dates, and two proposals of marriage.
'Don't get discouraged.'
'I'm not. At least not yet.'
'Good. You still up for a slice of Armenia?'
'You bet. The thought got me through half a dozen hotels, two hospitals, a few computer stores, and a sleazy reporter who suggested that there might be a way to run a story about Scott in his paper if I was willing to come by his place tonight for an interview.'
'Never underestimate the power of the press. Tell me something, Laura.
With all these people coming on to you, what made you say yes to me?'
She thought for a moment.
'Actually, I was quite surprised to hear myself doing that,' she said.
'And to tell you the truth, I really haven't tried to figure out why I did. But it's better that way, yes?'
Eric helped her on with her coat and they started across the lobby. As they passed the reception desk Windy winked at him, gave him a thumbs-up sign, and mouthed the words, 'Not bad.' Laura caught the exchange.
'Friend of yours?' she asked.
'Her name's Wendy.'
'She's been here every night. She's so pretty, it makes me sad to think of what she has to do.'
They waved to Wendy and then pushed through the glass doors into an evening that smelled and felt like spring. Behind them, the man in the tan windbreaker quickly folded up his paper and followed.
Pariegam was a gritty little place on a back street just off Watertown Square. Every month or two Eric managed to stop by for dinner, and invariably a significant proportion of the other patrons were relatives of his.
His parents each had three married siblings, all still living in Watertown; each of those couples had children who, in Turn, had in-laws and another set of aunts and uncles.
Only once before had he taken a date to Paxiegam, and that night had been a disaster. The woman, a social worker at the hospital, had been so intimidated by the crush of relatives fussing over him and unabashedly sizing her up that she had spilled a glass of wine in her lap. Bringing Laura here was a calculated risk, but he loved the place, and suspected she would too.
'There's still time to change your mind about this,' Eric said at the door.
'Is it going to be that bad?'
'That's hard to predict. At best, I think you can hope that only half the patrons in there are related to me. It's highly doubtful we'll be able to slip in and out unnoticed.'
'I'm sure they're proud of what you've done with your life, and they have a right to be.'
'I'm glad you understand. Armenians have been persecuted as much as any people in the history of the world. Life is very precious to us, and success in life means all the more because of what we've had to overcome to attain it.'
'And for the ultimate in success read: physician.'
'That's the way a fair number of Armenians feel especially those my parents'age.'
'Well, I promise I won't embarrass you,' she said.
'Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so pomPous.'
'Nonsense. All you're saying is that being a doctor is important to you. I hope someday I find a,career that makes me feel that way.
Now, if I don't get some dolma and yalanchee in me soon, I could get mighty testy.' Eric stared at her, genuinely impressed.
'You know, I think I like you,' he said.
The restaurant, which was always crowded and noisy, was more so than usual this night. The small bar was packed three deep, and every table was filled.
At one end of the place, on a small raised stage, a second or third cousin of Eric's was playing the oud, accompanied by a percussionist who was snapping out remarkable rhythms on dumbeg.
'I think you chose well,' Laura said.
'I hope so, t)because from the look of things, we may not get a table for a while.'
'Hey, Doctor Eric!'
A short, portly man with a checked apron pushed his way to them through the crowd.
'Hello, Arem,' Eric said. 'Ench bes es?'
'Not bad. I hear you're going to be the director of your hospital.
Congratulations.'
'God. Arem, it's just- the emergency service, not the hospital.
And it's only the associate director's job, and I haven't gotten it yet.
Otherwise, your information is perfect.'
'Hey, that's exciting,' Laura said.
'If it comes through it will be. Laura, this is Arem Bozian.
Pariegam is his place. Arem, this is Laura.'
The proprietor took Laura's hand and kissed it.
'This is quite a guy you have here, young lady,' he said. 'Quite a guy.
The best doctor in the city of Boston.
'Yesterday a man at the hospital told me the very same thing,' she said-.
'You a doctor too?'
'No, I'm a diver.'
A shadow of confusion crossed Bozian's round face.
'She leads scuba-diving trips in the islands,' Eric explained.
'It's a good job, Arem, believe me. A very good job. How long a wait is there for a table?'
