for a wide-ranging television interview for the purpose of introducing myself to his viewers.”
“It’s about time. I’ll arrange it. Now, sit down. I just talked with Senator Forrester’s secretary.”
“I’m sitting.”
“These are deep waters, Jason. The senator’s two granddaughters are visiting at the Forresters’ home this weekend.”
“How old are these granddaughters?”
“They have both just finished at Princeton. They are twins, very attractive, and with charming personalities.”
“I have a bad feeling about this, Pamela.”
“You may bring Fred if you also bring Eric, and I’ve already accepted the deal. It’s time Eric met somebody nice.”
“He’s too young!” I said. “I’m not ready for him to start dating.”
“He has to grow up sometime.”
27
Katie looked at her watch when I told her. “Twelve hours to get ready for television cameras.”
“We just moved in,” I said. “Nothing’s had a chance to get dirty.”
“But it’s not arranged for television. Where will we sit? What will be behind us?”
“They’ll set us up the way they want.”
“And then we’re going to Bob and Gladys Forrester’s for dinner tomorrow night. I did find a dress. I told them I needed it ready for tomorrow afternoon. Who will Fred be paired with?”
“Pamela did her best. When she proposed Fred, the senator met and raised. He put his twin granddaughters into the pot.”
“So now they’re short one man.”
“Not a man. Eric.”
“Oh my!”
“It was their request.”
She had to absorb this. “We can handle it. But he has nothing appropriate to wear.”
“I’m sure you’ll fix that,” I said.
With a heavy heart I found my little brother, still in his attitude of devotion before the mighty visage of Bill Sandoff. I turned San-doff off.
“Eric. I have a job for you.”
He switched realities and blinked. “Cool. Is it dangerous?”
“Extremely. Tomorrow evening you are going with Katie and me, and Fred Spellman, to dinner at Senator Forrester’s house. This is very high society. Can you do it?”
“Remember, they taught us that stuff at St. Martin’s? We had all those classes about how to act and what fork to use.”
“Right. That’s not the hard part anyway. The senator has two granddaughters who’ve just finished Princeton. They’ll be there. Your job is to keep them distracted while Fred and the senator and I talk business.”
I had his complete and wide-eyed attention. “Are you joking?”
“No. I’m as serious as an earthquake.”
There was a pause while he recovered his ability to speak. “Are they good-looking?”
“I’ve never seen them. They’re twins.”
“Oh man. Oh man! I’ll be there. Wow! Where do they live? I’ll pick them up.”
“They are at the senator’s house already. You just come here. We’ll go together. And Katie is in charge of getting you ready.”
“Okay. That’s good. Wow! Thanks, Jason. I’ll do it.”
“Don’t get carried away,” I said.
He’d spent lots more time in my television room than I had. He opened a cabinet I hadn’t noticed and was typing on a keyboard that I didn’t even know the television had. If I’d timed him, it would have been less than fifteen seconds before he’d gone on-line and was staring at search results.
“Whoa! Check it out!”
“That’s them?”
“It must be. It’s the Princeton Web site. This is going to be excellent.”
Okay, so they were attractive, in a cute college girl sort of way. “Their grandfather is a senator.”
“My brother is a billionaire.”
I was getting exasperated. “You want another plate of spaghetti in your face? I am not joking. Cool your jets, Eric.” But it was throwing a bucket of water on a forest fire.
“You just talk your business and I’ll handle Genevieve and Madeleine.”
“That’s their names?”
“I think their mother’s French. And their home address is in Paris.”
“Oh, right,” I said. “Forrester’s son is a diplomat.” It was now plain that this would be a disaster; Eric would be eaten alive. He’d escaped from the reporters on Thursday, but there would be no escape here.
“I took French.”
“So did I, and I remember six words. High-school French will not impress them.”
“I remember more than six words.” A new thought detonated in his head. “Do I have to ride with you?”
“Yes.”
“Then let me drive.”
“Eric, neither the senator nor I will allow you to take those young ladies out in your car.”
“We’d just go for a drive. I’d take the Jaguar.”
“It doesn’t have a back seat.”
“Three people can fit in the front seat. It’d be fun.”
“I’m sure the girls would agree. But it’s not going to happen. I would start listing rules but I don’t know if you can count high enough.”
“Okay. So what am I supposed to do?”
“Just talk. Maybe one of them works on cars.”
“Ha, ha. It says that Genevieve majored in international economics and Madeleine was in European history.”
“Talk about politics.”
“You’re not supposed to. Politics or religion.”
“All you have to do is keep them busy for a couple hours.”
“Yeah, no problem. But it would be way more fun on the road.”
“This is work. It’s not supposed to be fun.”
“It will be. It just won’t be as much fun as it could be.”
“I will give you one rule. Number 94, right?”
“I’m listening.” Not happily.
And what difference did it make, anyway? I wasn’t his father. “I don’t know. Never mind.”
“What?”
“You don’t need me to tell you how to act.”
The day was over-at least it should have been. It was early for bed but there was nothing else I wanted to do.
At the old house I might have gone running. The grounds here were even big enough that I could have found some circuit to wear myself out on, but it was dark. The swimming pool didn’t have water in it yet. I stopped in the kitchen to express my appreciation to Rosita, and I met the new maids there. Then I was wandering again.
I found myself back in the television room. Eric was still glued.
“Did you say we were going to Bob Forrester’s house tomorrow night?”
