us off?”
Margo pointed to Judith and Renie. “They have. Maybe
we should hire them to replace Ward and Andrea and Leon.”
“But there are only two of them,” Russell said, replenishing
his blackberry cordial. “Mmm—this is very sweet. I like it.”
“Numbskull,” Killegrew muttered. “I’m surrounded by
numbskulls and pansies.”
“
both fists. “I’m no pansy! I was in ’Nam!”
“Right,” Killegrew said on a grudging sigh. “You were a
real hero. How come you never made it past Private E-2?”
“Hey!” Max began, but Margo hit him over the head with
her empty plate.
“Shut up, Max! Let’s not get on the old war horses again!
I’m sick of it! Who gives a damn?”
“Some people don’t like war,” Nadia said quietly, then
peered at Gene over the rims of her glasses. “You were a
protester at Berkeley, weren’t you?”
Gene drew back in his chair. “So? That was in my undergraduate days at Cal.”
“You were a member of SDS.” Nadia gave Gene an arch
little smile.
“I was not!” Gene shouted. “I kept away from all those
radical movements!”
Nadia wasn’t backing down. “But you protested the Vietnam war.”
“That’s different,” Gene retorted. “Everybody did that at
Berkeley. Once I got into law school at Stanford, I stayed
clear of politics.”
Nadia’s thin face took on a conciliatory expression. “Maybe
you shouldn’t have. Given your background in an Oakland
ghetto, didn’t you feel a need to help your so-called brothers
and sisters better themselves?”
“My…?” Gene looked on the verge of apoplexy. “I’m
middle class! I was always middle class! I’m more than
middle class, I’m a lawyer!”
“Who are in a class by themselves,” Margo murmured.
“Calm down, Gene. You made it. Nobody cares about your
beginnings.”
Ava leaned across the table towards Nadia. “What about
your origins? You never talk about your background, Nadia.
Is it true that Frank found you under a cabbage?”
Nadia’s nostrils flared. “That’s silly! Why don’t you tell
us how you got here from Samoa?”
A spurt of anger crossed Ava’s face, then she composed
herself. “I took a plane. That’s all anyone needs to know.
But,” she went on, “maybe this is the time to make an announcement.” Getting to her feet, she glanced at each of the
others in turn. “I was going to save this for the last day of
the retreat. Considering how this weekend has gone, several
of us have already seen our last day, period.” She paused,
