A Surface Problem Ch. 05

"No problem," Alastair replied, "I'll call Jim Hughes at Cold Spring Harbor and get you fixed, and I can always slip you into the course when you return."

Peter was pleased. He always had slides he could talk to, and he night not even talk, just listen to the cutting-edge stuff that was always presented. He left messages for Anna and Sophie, and talked to Sharon and the lab people: he would be away for the week. Then he checked his bank balance: much more there than there should have been, so he made an appointment to see someone at the bank later that afternoon. He booked a flight and a hotel then contacted Alastair's colleague, who was happy to talk to him and give advice about the meeting.

At the bank his adviser told him he was 'worth' over four million: $4,867,264 at 2 pm to be precise. He had $1,8M in easily accessible funds and the $2M in Pharma stock had grown to over $3M: thank you for the advice, Jos. And this was not including the most recent 300,000 bonus from the last Pharma meeting. The numbers were too large for him to digest. The adviser wanted to talk longer but Peter put him off until he returned from New England.

Feeling euphoric Peter thought he should buy some new clothes, but what? He had all he needed. He went home and packed, then did some writing: always a good escape.

The meeting was a pure delight to Peter. He speakers were all top-notch, many of them big names from major labs. The coffee breaks were particularly interesting. He was surprised to find people that knew is work and he was peppered with questions about his plans and recent data, once his presence there was known. After 3 days he felt he had been there long enough and he made plans to leave, giving both Sophie and Anna an email. He got an immediate reply from Sophie saying she could be there that night, or would he like to come to Washington for 2 days before returning to the West Coast?

Washington and Sophie, how could he say no? Even though his intent was to get away, the change of atmosphere had been good and enough he thought. He caught a short-hop plane from Worcester, Mass to Dulles Washington and was warmly met by Sophie.

"What a lovely surprise, Petey" she said clinging to his arm, beaming like a Cheshire Cat. "I'm not sure if I will show you the sights or spend the 2 days in bed with you!"

It turned out to be a mixture of the two: they spent time at the Smithsonian, the Space and Aircraft museum and MOMA; and enough time in bed that Sophie did not feel neglected. Nothing was said about Peter's fatherhood: they were totally focused on each other.

Sophie was to finish in three weeks and already had a position at a small cryptography company at Mountain View close to Peter.

The week went by quickly. Sophie was preparing to move west, Anna was busy with her patients and the school, and Katya was abroad. Emails were exchanged. Peter delivered his lectures and followed the results coming out of Roswell: his newer project was on fungal uptake of D-amino acids into immunosuppressants. Progress was satisfactory.

On a whim Peter went out in the Morgan, along the coast towards Half Moon Bay. He was looking for property, perhaps a weekend cottage, or a piece of land to build on. There were some likely candidates and he wrote down the names of several realtors who were advertising. It was just a day trip and he wanted just to think about the idea without talking to anyone.

Back in the apartment Peter kept himself busy with the more mundane jobs, not wishing to bother Anna while she was occupied with her new status. It was obvious to him that Anna and her mother were much closer that he realized and he made adjustments to his routine to compensate. So it was a bit of a surprise when he got a phone call early in the week from Anna asking if he was upset or out-of-sorts. He replied everything was fine.

"So why have you been neglecting me? I know Sophie isn't due to arrive for another 10 days, she told me so, and Katya is away. Have I done something to upset you?"

"Oh dear" Peter thought, "better clear this up." Then to Anna: "of course not, I was just giving you time to be with your mother. How about dinner tonight, or tomorrow?"

"Lovely! I'll cook something you like, or something I like: I'll decide this afternoon. Come over about 6.30, OK?" Anna enthused. Good, Peter thought, unexpected but good. Women never ceased to unsettle him: how was he to know what they were thinking? Probably best to let Anna make the first move, after adjusting to her new situation, and keep a low profile. He picked up a bottle of red for the meal on his way over after closing up at Roswell.

Peter arrived at Anna's apartment at 6.35 and was welcomed at the door with a kiss. He was a bit surprise to find Alicja there as well, in the kitchen, with an apron on.

"Hello Peter" she said, "I hope you don't mind but I invited myself. Anna was asking about the recipe for a traditional dish of ours and I suggested I come over and make it for us."

"Delighted to see you again, Alicja" Peter replied gallantly. "I have heard legendary stories of your cooking so I look forward to dinner." He presented the bottle to Anna and she passed him an opener with three glasses. Alicja tidied up the kitchen, took off the apron, and joined them for a drink.

They sat in the comfortable area for about half an hour and drank most of the bottle when Alicja got up.

"Should be ready now: you can sit up" Alicja announced, "it's a kind of spicy goulash Peter. I hope you like spicy dishes!"

"Lead me to it" he replied, pulling out Anna's chair while Alicja brought the casserole to the table. They ate quietly, the ladies starting a bottle of white wine while Peter had a beer. There was no desert, just cheese and crackers. It was close to 9 o'clock when they had finished chatting and Peter had a feeling that something was being decided, without his input.

"Peter", Alicja looked at him, "Peter, Anna has told me quite a lot about yourself and her relationship with you. I want to thank you for all you have done for both of us, and for many you don't know about. Your gift has made life much more liveable, and pleasureable for many of us!"

Alicja got up from the table and walked to Peter's side. She took his head in her hands and kissed him, full and deeply.