Free Robin Cook by Mindbend Page B

of the small size of the bedroom closet, his clothes were in the hall closet.
    â€œWhy can’t you stay here and discuss this?” Jennifer called out.
    Adam came back into the bedroom. “There’s nothing more to discuss.”
    â€œOh yes there is,” said Jennifer, giving vent to her anger. “I have as much to say about all this as you do. No one agrees with you about leaving medical school and the reason is simple: you shouldn’t. I’m perfectly capable of working right up until the last month, even the last week. Why do both of us have to interrupt our careers? Since I obviously can’t continue dancing, it’s only sensible that I get the new job. Your staying in school will be best for all of us in the long run. Besides, I already have a position and you don’t have any idea of what you could do.”
    â€œOh yes I have,” snapped Adam. “I’m going to Arolen Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey. I called this afternoon and they are eager to see me. I have an interview tomorrow.”
    â€œWhy are you being so bullheaded about this?” said Jennifer. “You don’t have to leave school. I can work.”
    â€œIf you call bullheadedness my desire to keep you healthy and keep your parents frominterfering in our life, then, yes, I’m bullheaded. One way or the other, the issue is closed, the discussion is over. I’m leaving school and you are not working at Macy’s. Any questions?” Adam knew he was taunting Jennifer, but he felt she deserved it.
    â€œI’ve got plenty of questions,” said Jennifer. “But I realize that it is useless to ask them. I wonder if you realize how much like your father you are.”
    â€œJust shut up about my father,” shouted Adam. “If anybody around here is going to criticize my father, I’ll do it. Besides, I’m not like my father in the slightest.”
    He kicked the bedroom door shut with a bang. For a moment he stood in the middle of the living room, wondering what he could break. Then, instead of doing something stupid, he finished dressing and drying his hair. Calmer, he decided to try and make peace with Jennifer. He started to open the bedroom door and was shocked to find it locked.
    â€œJennifer,” he called over the sound of the TV. “I’m going to go out and get something to eat. I’d like you to go with me.”
    â€œYou go ahead,” called Jennifer. “I want to stay by myself for a while.”
    Adam could tell that she’d been crying and he felt guilty.
    â€œJennifer, open the door,” he begged. The TV played on. “Jennifer, open the door.”
    Still no answer. Adam felt his anger return in a rush. Stepping back, he eyed the door. For a second it seemed symbolic of all his problems. Without thinking, he raised his right foot and kicked with all his strength. The wood around the latch gave, and the door flew open, crashing against the bedroom wall. Jennifer drew herself up in a tight ball against the headboard.
    Adam could tell that she was terrified, and he immediately felt stupid. “They don’t make doors the way they used to,” he said lamely and tried to laugh. Jennifer didn’t say anything. Adam pulled the door away from the wall. Where the doorknob had struck, there was a hole in the plaster.
    â€œWell, that was stupid,” he said, trying to sound cheerful. “Anyway, as I was saying. Let’s go out and get something to eat.”
    Jennifer shook her head no.
    Adam looked around self-consciously, embarrassed by his tantrum. “OK,” he said meekly. “I’ll be back later.”
    Jennifer nodded but didn’t speak. She watched Adam leave and heard the door to the hall close and lock. What was happening to them, she wondered. Adam seemed like a different person. He’d never been violent, and violence terrified her. Was this pregnancy going to change