The Green Glass Sea (14 page)

“It's important?” Dewey asked.

He nodded. “I wouldn't go if it wasn't. ”

“Okay, ” Dewey said in a small voice. It wasn't okay at all, but she knew that was what Papa wanted her to say. She curled into his side, her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder. They sat that way for a long time, until the small fire burned to ashes, the rest of their sandwiches untouched.

SUZE GOT HOME
from school a little before 4:00 on the last Friday in March. She clattered up the back steps and opened the door, thinking about the leftover pie in the icebox and the box of colored pencils Grandpa Weiss had sent her for Hanukkah. She was startled to see her mother sitting at the kitchen table.

“Why are
you
home? Why aren't you in your lab?” she asked, dropping her books on the counter with a thump.

“It's nice to see you too, sweetie, ” said her mother, putting down her coffee cup. “Sit down and have a Coke with me. ” She patted the chair next to her.

Suze nodded, but her radar was on alert. Something was up. She wracked her brain to see if there was anything she'd done in the last week that she might have gotten caught at, but came up blank. Things had been pretty boring lately. Just school.

Her mother arched one eyebrow and cocked her head in the direction of the Coke bottle. Suze sat.

“How was school?” Her mother lit a Chesterfield and put the match into the ashtray Daddy had given her for Christmas, a square of glass with a picture of a skunk with Hitler's face. JAM YOUR BUTTS ON THIS SKUNK, it said.

“Okay, ” Suze said warily. “We're doing all the states around here. The West. Cowboys and buffaloes. It's pretty interesting. ” She took a drink of Coke. “And long division and spelling in the afternoon. ”

The subjects in this school were about the same as she had in her old one, except there was hardly any science. Suze thought that was weird, because the Hill had more scientists than any place in the whole world, probably. But they were all too busy working on gadget stuff to teach kids, and most of the mothers who had been to college worked in one of the labs as a computer or a secretary. Suze figured that was because they could understand what they were typing.

“That's good, ” her mother said. She tapped her cigarette, even though the ash wasn't very long at all, and Suze realized that she was stalling. Her radar jumped to red alert.

“I think there's enough space in your room for a second bed, don't you, Suze? I mean, if we moved your dresser over against the other wall and put the desk out in the living room, I think we could fit another twin bed, or at least a cot, in there. ”

Her mother was talking fast and giving her lots of useless information, which wasn't normal. Suze suspected that she knew what was coming next.

“Are you going to have a baby?” she asked. Half the wives on the Hill were pregnant, it seemed.

“What?” Mrs. Gordon put her coffee cup down so hard it sloshed onto the oilcloth. “God, no! I mean, not now. Not here. ” She shook her head and laughed. “Nothing that earthshaking. We're just going to have a visitor for a little while, that's all. ”

“Like who?” No one on the Hill was allowed to have guests from outside, except Oppie, and that was only VIPs from Washington or Chicago, who stayed in the Big House by the Lodge. The Hill was pretty crowded, but they wouldn't make a big shot sleep in a
kid's
room, would they?

“Well, you remember Jimmy Kerrigan, the tenor in my singing group? We went to his house in Morganville last summer once, right before school started? Anyway, he has to—”

Suze didn't hear the rest of the sentence because she felt like she was going to throw up. That was Screwy Dewey's father. No, Mom couldn't mean her. It had to be someone else. It had to be—

“Suze? Have you heard a word I've said?”

Suze bit her lip and nodded.

“Okay, then. ” Mrs. Gordon took a puff on her cigarette, ground it out in the ashtray, and continued. “So Jimmy's going away for a couple of weeks. Washington, I think, although he couldn't say. Top secret, very hush-hush, even for this place. Doesn't matter, really, ” she said. “The point is he's going to be gone for a while and of course he can't take his daughter with him. Poor guy didn't know what to do. But I told him it would be no trouble at all for Dewey to stay with us. You girls are in the same class. ”

Suze winced. She'd said it. Her mother had said the name, out loud. “Dewey?” Suze said, in a voice that came out as more of a squeak.

“Yes, Dewey. I told Jimmy we have plenty of room—well, we don't really, I mean no one does, but the poor kid can't stay by herself, and your room is big enough—so I told him we'd love to have her come and stay. ”

Suze stared at her mother with her mouth open. “You want to let Dewey Kerrigan sleep in my
room
? ”

Mrs. Gordon looked at Suze, her lips in a tight line that was almost a frown, definitely not a smile. “That's the idea, yes. ”

“No, ” said Suze.

“What?”

“No. Not Screwy Dewey. I don't like her. No one does. ” Suze looked away and took a drink of Coke.

“I do, ” said Mrs. Gordon. “I think she's a very interesting little girl. ” She was silent for a minute, then put her coffee cup down on her napkin, centering it, and turned it so the handle pointed precisely into one corner. Suze knew then that she was in trouble. Her mother only did that when she was really mad and about to give a lecture.

Mrs. Gordon lit another cigarette, took a puff, and put it into the ashtray, aligning it so that the glowing tip was in the exact center of the square of glass.

Big, big trouble.

“I've had just about enough, Susan, ” Mrs. Gordon said. “First of all, I don't want you using that terrible name ever again. Screwy Dewey. My Lord. The poor girl hasn't had it easy, and she doesn't need you tormenting her. Got it?” She looked hard at Suze, who nodded her head just a fraction.

“Second—and I don't know how this could have escaped your notice—but for your information, there's a war on. And to win that war, everyone has to pitch in. Daddy and I have put our careers on hold to come and work in the labs here. And you, young lady, are going to do your part by sharing your room. For a few weeks. What a huge sacrifice we're asking of you.
Huge
. ” Mrs. Gordon stopped and took another puff of her cigarette, blowing the smoke out with an annoyed hiss.

“What kind of person, ” she continued, “what kind of patriotic American, would be selfish enough to force one of our best scientists to choose between keeping his daughter out of an orphanage—or worse—and saving the world from Hitler? Just so you can have your own room? How do you think—?”

Suze slumped down in her chair and let her mother's rant wash over her. She didn't think that even Mom really believed the Nazis would win if Screwy Dewey didn't sleep in her room. But she knew when she was licked.

“Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?” asked Mrs. Gordon when she had finished.

Suze sighed. “When's she coming?”

“Monday. I'll go down to the housing office and see about getting another bed. ” Mrs. Gordon stubbed out her cigarette and stood up. She went to the back door, then stopped, one hand on the knob, and turned around, attempting a smile. “It'll be fine, ” she said. “You'll see. ”

Suze said nothing. Life as she knew it was over. Again.

JIMMY KERRIGAN PUT
the brown suitcase down on the floor beside the fireplace in the Gordons' living room.

“That's the last of it, Terry, ” he said. “If the weather warms up much, she'll need to go back to our place and get some lighter clothes, and she may want some books that didn't make her first cut. But I think she's basically covered for the next couple of weeks. ” He sat down on the arm of the nubby green sofa. The red metal box of Dewey's Erector set lay on the seat. “I can't tell you how much this means to me. ”

“I know, ” said Terry Gordon. “It's hard. But I'm glad she's here. She's a bright, interesting kid. I'm happy to get the chance to know her better. In my copious free time, ” she laughed. “And I think Suze will enjoy the company—once she gets over the snit she's in. ”

“Are you sure it's not going to be a problem for her?”

“I'm sure. It's just that she's an only child, and she's pretty used to getting her own way. I think this will be good for her. And even though she hasn't said anything, I suspect she's been getting kind of lonely, especially in the evenings, what with both Phil and me working until all hours. ”

“Tell me about it. I don't think I made it home for supper two nights in a row all last month. I'm sure Dewey will be glad to have someone to talk to over the macaroni, won't you, Dews?” He turned to the kitchen doorway where Dewey was standing motionless.

“I guess so, ” she said.

“I should get going, ” he said to Terry. “The train leaves Lamy at six, and I still have to swing by the lab and get my briefcase. ” He picked up his hat and brushed a few tufts of white cat hair off the pants of his dark blue suit.

“Don't worry about a thing, ” Terry said. “We'll all be fine. Really. ” She patted his arm. “I'll stay up here, let you two say good-bye in private. Or what passes for private in this goldfish bowl. ”

She turned to Dewey. “You go on down with your dad—with your papa. I'll fire up the Black Beauty and make us some Ovaltine, okay?”

“Okay, ” said Dewey. She didn't move.

Jimmy put his arm around her. “C'mon, Dews. It's not the end of the world. I'll be back in a couple of weeks. Walk me to the car?” He held out his hand.

Dewey nodded and took his hand. They walked slowly down the stairs to the road. There were no other kids around, no other people, because it was the middle of a Monday afternoon, and everyone was in school or in the labs.

They stood for a minute on the bottom stoop in an awkward silence. Dewey didn't know what to say. She was trying very hard not to cry. Papa had gone away before, lots of times. Her whole life. It was an ache she ought to be used to by now. But she never was.

He crouched down so that they were eye-to-eye. “I love you, Dews, ” he said quietly. “I love you more than anything else in the world. You're my girl. ” He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

Dewey hugged him back fiercely, holding on to him as if she could imprint the sensations of that moment onto herself—the touch of his arms, the smell of his aftershave, the soft scratchy wool of his suit, the warmth of his breath against her ear—to save them for later. She hugged him for a long time, until he finally pulled away, gently, and whispered, “I have to go. But I promise, I'll be back as soon as possible. ” His eyes shimmered with tears. He kissed her again, once on each cheek, and stood up.

“I'll write when I can, ” he said. “If I can. ” He brushed his hand across her curls, then got into his green Studebaker and drove down the road toward the Tech Area. His tires kicked up a little plume of dust as he went around the corner, then he was gone.

Dewey stood on the concrete stoop, staring at the road until the dust had settled back to dirt. A tear trickled down her cheek, and she pushed her glasses up and wiped it away with the back of one wrist.

“Dewey?” Mrs. Gordon was at the top of the stairs. She came down, one careful step at a time, as if trying not to make any sudden moves that might startle Dewey. She paused on the last riser, put out a hand, and touched Dewey's shoulder. Dewey wondered for a moment if Mrs. Gordon was going to try to hug her, and wasn't sure if she wanted that. But Mrs. Gordon just rested her hand on Dewey's sweater for a few seconds and squeezed her shoulder a little. “I'm glad you're going to stay with us, ” she said. “Let's have some Ovaltine, then we can get you unpacked. ”

Dewey sniffled once, then nodded and turned around, following her up the steep wooden stairs.

“I expect Suze will be home about four, ” Mrs. Gordon said, pouring the Ovaltine from a saucepan on the front burner of the big black iron stove. “But you knew that, didn't you? I keep forgetting that you girls are in the same class. Except for math? Suze says you take math with another class?” She put two teacups full of the malty chocolate on the table and sat down.

“Yes, ma'am. I do algebra with the high-school kids, ” Dewey said, sitting down in a chair on the other side of the table.

Mrs. Gordon raised an eyebrow. “That's a big jump, from sixth grade to high school. ”

“I guess so. But Papa started teaching me numbers when I was little. He says I could add before I could read. ” She took a sip. “This is very good. Thank you, Mrs. Gordon. ”

“‘Mrs. Gordon' sounds so formal, ” she said. “If you want, you can call me Terry. Everyone else does. ”

Dewey thought for a minute. She called Dick Feynman and some of the other scientists by their names, because they were her friends, even if they were grown-ups. But they were all men. Nana Gallucci had told her that it was very rude to call a grown-up woman by her first name. And besides, Dewey was pretty sure that Suze didn't call her that. “I don't think Suze would like that, ” she said finally.

Mrs. Gordon chuckled. “Probably not. ” She lit a cigarette and snapped her silver lighter shut with a click. “Tell you what. Officially, I'll be Mrs. Gordon. But if it's just us, and no one else is around, Terry is okay. ” She winked at Dewey.