Gloria knew something was up as soon as she entered the dining room at home.
For one thing, her mom had made her favorite pink Jell-O salad with marshmallows and cranberry bits—a side dish usually reserved for Thanksgiving. Hardly weeknight fare. For another, her dad had put a stack of new comic books beside her plate. He hardly ever brought them home—he liked it when she came by the store and could critique the entire selection to make sure he wasn't getting his ordering wrong. The X-Men had been the lone comic she adored, but that didn't sell.
Gloria knew something was up as soon as she entered the dining room at home.
"What happened? Is Granny okay?" she asked.
"Granny's fine," her mom said from the foot of the table. "Come sit down."
"We had a call from the school," her father said, "and they insisted you stay, even offered scholarship money. The doctor who runs that research experiment is coming by for dinner—he'll be here directly. He seems very impressed with you."
Brenner at dinner at her parents' table? After he'd sent Terry to bug them. She'd begun to hope that maybe getting out of the experiment wouldn't be as difficult as she assumed. But whatever response she'd expected, it hadn't been quite this personal.
"I'll be right back," she said, picking up the comics. "I should run these up to my room."
Her father winked at her. "Don't want the doctor asking you about the funny books, huh?"
"That's right." She waited until she got into the hallway and dragged a breath through her nose. There was a knock at the door. She didn't want to answer it.
"Honey, can you get that?" her mom said, which wasn't a question.
She put her precious comic books under a newspaper, smoothed her skirt, and donned a pleasant expression. Only then did she open the door.
She blinked to find Alice on the other side of it.
"Alice?"
"I'm sorry to come without calling, but I didn't have your number and I called the shop and they said you were home already and—"
"It's fine," Gloria said and pulled Alice inside. "Except I just found out Dr. Brenner is coming for dinner."
Alice looked as shocked as Gloria felt.
"My little experiment with what he'd do to keep us backfired. You should probably leave before he gets here." Gloria frowned. "Why are you here?"
"I need to talk to you about something," Alice said. "But you're right, I should go."
"Too late," Gloria said. A shadow approached the wavy door-glass. A knock followed it. "He's here."
"Mom, can you set another place? My friend Alice is joining us," Gloria
called.
Her mom poked her head out into the hallway, taking in Alice's informal attire. "Of course," she said, as if she didn't disapprove of women wearing pants at the table. Gloria adored her parents. She hated the idea of them being nice to Brenner.
Another knock. Gloria had no choice but to open the door.
"Hello, Dr. Brenner," she said, pasting her smile on as firmly as possible. "Welcome to our humble home. You already know Alice, of course. She came by for..."
Gloria hadn't thought through this sentence.
"Supper," Alice put in. "I hear Mrs. Flowers' cooking is legendary. And this home isn't that humble." When Gloria raised her eyebrows, she said, "It's beautiful, is all I mean."
In any other circumstance, it would have made Gloria laugh.
Dr. Brenner said, "What a pleasant surprise; not just one promising lab subject but two."
"Right this way," Gloria said and linked her arm through Alice's so she wouldn't be forced to walk alongside Brenner.
Her father stood, and the usual male handshake and friendly back-patting greeting occurred. Gloria's mother returned with a place setting for Alice.
"We're so happy to have you here, Dr. Brenner," her mother said.
He nodded as if to say Of course, and didn't even bother to get her name. Figured.
"Now," Gloria's father said as he motioned for everyone to be seated and serve themselves, "tell us how wonderful our Gloria is."
"I'm so glad we won't be losing her to California," Dr. Brenner said, looking only at her father. "I've talked to the fellows there, friends of mine, and told them we must keep her here."
Gloria heard Alice make a choking sound.
Gloria reached out and scooped a giant lump of pink salad onto her plate.
"Have some chicken, too, glorious girl," her mom said. "And you too, Alice."
"I'm curious, Gloria, why you considered leaving?" Dr. Brenner asked, eyes only for her now.
"I was just exploring my options."
