Free Equivocal Death by Amy Gutman

pos-33
    sibilities were endless.
    34 sh
    Kate glanced at her watch. Almost nine-thirty. She was right on 35 re

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    A M Y G U T M A N
    1
    time. Pulling off her coat, Kate sank into a chair to wait for Justin’s 2
    arrival. Her eyes wandered around the room. The club was a sea of 3
    crimson — crimson carpets and crimson walls — punctuated by 4
    portraits of old white men. Lately, there’d been some progress on 5
    the gender front, with money raised to bring in more pictures of 6
    women. Until the recent push, there’d been only two, the black 7
    contralto Marian Anderson — might as well get two minorities for 8
    the price of one — and Helen Keller — a role model, to be sure, 9
    but was it mere coincidence that the club had selected a female 10
    icon who was blind, deaf, and mute?
    11
    Kate was skimming the headlines of the Wall Street Journal when 12
    Justin bounded into sight.
    13
    “Am I late?” he said, sounding slightly out of breath. “I got tied 14
    up with some last-minute document work.”
    15
    “Just on time,” Kate assured him. “I was on the early side.” She 16
    felt a glow of pleasure in his company. Justin wasn’t just a close 17
    friend; he was also a touchstone, a reminder of how far she’d come.
    18
    Again, she thought about that last year of school. It had been Justin 19
    who pulled her through. Not only had he given her a shoulder to 20
    cry on; he’d also offered advice. “Don’t let a guy — any guy —
    21
    screw up your life,” he’d said. “Make this work for you. After you 22
    spend a couple of years at Samson & Mills, you’ll be able to write 23
    your own ticket. You may not think that matters now, but you will 24
    later. Besides, what have you got to lose?” And he’d been right.
    25
    As Justin leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, Kate felt her 26
    face grow warm. Sounds like he’d make a great husband. Andrea’s 27
    lunchtime pronouncement. Luckily, Justin didn’t notice.
    28
    “Shall we dump our coats?” He was already heading toward the 29
    cloakroom.
    30
    “Sure.” Following Justin down a narrow corridor, Kate saw that 31
    his hair was damp. He must have stopped by the gym. Crazy as 32
    things got at Samson, Justin never seemed to miss a day. Some-33
    thing she couldn’t say for herself. Kate tried to remember the last ort 34
    time she’d taken advantage of her firm-subsidized membership in reg 35

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    E Q U I V O C A L D E A T H
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    the Mercury Athletic Club. Mercury was one of the city’s pricier 1
    and more exclusive gyms. It was ridiculous not to avail herself of 2
    this perk. She’d definitely make it over this week. Really.
    3
    The Grill Room was a sea of overstuffed leather sofas, chairs, 4
    and tables populated by the usual mix of old and young Harvard 5
    types. A table of four elderly men in suits, white-haired and distin-6
    guished, huddled over a vigorous game of backgammon with the 7
    same high seriousness that they must have once accorded their 8
    business deals. Several professional couples dined à deux. A cluster 9
    of twenty-something guys with slicked-back hair were trading 10
    jokes over drinks. They reminded Kate of puppies, high-spirited 11
    and not quite housebroken. The mood was quiet and restrained, 12
    with the club’s strictly enforced “Gentlemen’s Rules” barring any 13
    display of cash or business papers. Payment was discreetly effected 14

by way of a member’s signature.
    15
    “How about over there?” Kate gestured to a corner table to the 16
    right of the entrance. She wanted to be assured of privacy.
    17
    After settling in at their table and ordering drinks — white 18
    wine for Kate, vodka and tonic for Justin — Justin turned to Kate.
    19
    “So how was the cruise?” he asked.
    20
    “Terrific,” said Kate. “Great.” It wasn’t quite the truth. While 21
    the weather had been beautiful, balmy and hot,