“Don’t get TOO excited,” I said. “One step at a time.”
“I got an e-mail today from Noi. I told her not to worry. She
was warned by someone in Australia not to plan on coming to the colloquium! Can you believe it? The Australians are telling her I’m unreliable and arrogant. I have to put a stop to these rumors.”
“Making extravagant promises won’t—”
“It’s Molly, the webmistress. She’s been posting mean remarks on the list-serve about the girls in New York. As if Melbourne’s the center of the universe?”
“Well, it’s closer to Bangkok than we are.”
“And she’s trying to destroy my friendship with Noi!”
After promising to report back very soon, I hung up.
THURSDAY, 3/29/01
This morning, Barry greeted me in the waiting room of his office. I was surprised to find him sitting at his assistant’s desk, bent over a pile of envelopes and magazines. He was wearing suspenders that almost matched his bow tie—an offhand yet well-planned marriage of wavy yellow stripes.
“Leonard is attending the birth of his first child,” he announced. “I am my own receptionist.”
He ushered me into his office. “But it’s kind of fun, working for yourself. I might adopt this as a lifestyle,” he added.
A collection of Troll Dolls from the 1960s decorated a glassencased cabinet behind his desk. I complimented him on the renovation of his office space—finally complete—then tried to summarize Allie’s situation. He steepled his fingers and assumed one of his most enigmatic expressions.
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