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CHARLES SOSKIND was strikingly handsome That much was obvious from the moment Thomas Trumbull introduced him to the membership of the Black Widowers on the occasion of their monthly banquet

It was, in fact, obvious even before he was introduced He was tall, slim, dark-haired He had a pale coly dark for that He had astonishingly regular features, firm lips with just a trace of sensuousness about therip and his fingernails ell cared for He exuded just a trace of after - shave lotion and the paleness of his cheeks was shadowed by the blueness of a buried beard - for there was no visible stubble He ell - barbered and he seemed like a throwback to a Gibson collar ad

Trumbull said, "Charles is relatively new at the Departree in Slavic studies at the University of Michigan"

Hands were shaken all around and each Black Widower displayed that quite detectable air of distrust hich ordinary males meet an extraordinary specimen of their own kind

Mario Gonzalo was perhaps ed to locate his reflection in the ht have thought was an unobtrusive manner

If so, Erin which showed the pronounced gap between his upper first incisors, Rubin whispered, "Forget it, Mario You&039;re straight out of the garbage can in comparison"

Gonzalo lifted his eyebrows and stared down at the shorter Rubin in haughty displeasure "What the hell are you talking about?"

Rubin continued to smile "You know," he said, "and I know, and surely that&039;s enough"

Just the sah his straggly beard as though a sudden and impossible desire to have it floard in a neat and impressive manner had overtaken him

Geoffrey Avalon cleared his throat and stood straighter and more stiffly even than was his wont He o inches taller than Soskind, and it was clear that he didn&039;t care if the whole world noticed that little fact

Roger Halsted sucked in his stomach and endured the discomfort of that for nearly two minutes James Drake, the oldest of the Black Widowers, looked preternaturally indifferent, as though it was only age and nothing more that kept him out of the race - and, what&039;s

Only Henry, the competent waiter, on whose shoulders the welfare of the banquets rested, seeht Soskind his straight ginger ale, with a arded the drink somberly and then, with the air of so on the h no one asked, "I order the cherry because that makes it look like an alcoholic drink of some sort and I then don&039;t have to explain why I&039;"

"Why don&039;t you drink?" asked Rubin, with immediate perversity

"It&039;s not because I&039;m a member of Alcoholics Anonymous," said Soskind dryly "I just have a low tolerance for alcohol One drink gets et no pleasure out of the sensation, I choose not to drink I don&039;t have to be forced or argued into it"

"If I were you," said Gonzalo, darkly, "I&039;d get Perrier with a pearl onion in it That dye they use in enic, I hear"

"So is everything," said Soskind, "if you choose the proper strain of rats to experih"

Halsted said, with the usual slight stammer that always seemed to invade his speech as soon as he tried particularly hard to seem a man of the world, "Too bad you&039;re so adversely affected by alcohol Overdoing it is bestial, but there is nothing quite as civilized as the ritual of theof drinks It reduces the inhibitions standing in the way of the true grace of social intercourse"

"Believe , "I fully appreciate that particular disadvantage under which I labor I usually avoid cocktail panics simply because I can&039;t participate on equal terms And that&039;s by no means the worst of it It&039;s the business lunches that are the real strain I assure you that if I could drink lad to do so"

And alh on cue, Henry announced the end of the cocktail hour "Dinner is served, gentle next to the banquet guest and said, "Are you of Russian extraction, Mr Soskind?"

"Not as far as I know," said Soskind, his expression lightening a bit at the smoked salmon and onion bits He reached for a section of the thin - sliced bread and butter and carefully brushed the capers to one side "My father&039;s father arrived here fro, and my mother&039;s parents were both Welsh"

"I asked," said Drake, "because of your degree in Slavic studies Your doctorate, by the way?"

"Yes, I have the right to be referred to as Dr Soskind, though I never insist on it You are Dr Drake, I presume?"

"Chemistry But all of us can refer to each other as doctors by virtue of our ood Henry, the invaluable waiter of the organization, is Dr Jackson, if we chose to call him that - But how did you come to Slavic studies?"

"Oh, that! No personal reasons, if you discount a the Soviet Union in open competition for forty years now Many Soviet citizens can speak English and have studied Anglo - American history and culture, while very few Americans have returned the coe and bya personal effort to help redress the balance, I a e is useful"

"You mean in Tom Trumbull&039;s department?"

"I overnment in which we both serve"

"I take it then," put in Avalon suddenly from the other side of the table, "that you speak and read Russian quite fluently"

"Yes, sir," said Soskind, "quite fluently, and Polish as well I can make myself understood in Czech and Serbian With ties, too Arabic and Japanese are extremely important in today&039;s world, and I intend to take courses in each as soon as I finish my present damned task"

Trumbull leaned forward from his position at the head of the table, which he occupied by virtue of serving as that evening&039;s host of the banquet

"Stop it, you idiots! Is this grilling time? Charles, you answer no questions at all until it&039;s tiht now, you just enjoy your dinner undisturbed - I don&039;t understand you half - wits Do the rules of the club have to be explained to you each time?"

"There are no rules," said Rubin, promptly

"Yes?" said Gonzalo "I wonder if you&039;ll expound that doctrine the next tiuest"

"That&039;s a matter of tradition!" howled Rubin "If you can&039;t understand the difference between tradition and rules -"

And the discussion degenerated into a verbal free - for - all at once

The bouillabaisse was done; the hot, scented napkins had been put to their proper use; the baked Alaska was consu over their coffee (tea for the guest) when Trulass and said, "Mario, since you did not display the bad taste to grill uest before he had been adequately fed, won&039;t you now serve as griller - in - chief?"

Gonzalo juuest, catching him in a spectacularly Byronic profile He said, "Mr Soskind, it is custouest to justify his existence Let e that you would say in response that you are carrying through the justification by using your Russian to help the Aovernlaring at the caricature, said, "The word &039;beat&039; has unpleasant connotations I would prefer to say that I a my bit to secure the interests of the United States, which, I take it, means first and foremost the preservation of world peace and the protection of huhts"

Gonzalo said, "But wouldn&039;t you bea hell of a lot more money if you went into show business?"

Soskind reddened and see with himself to prevent an explosion His control burst, however, and he said, "That&039;s an idiotic question to ask, and the proper answer I ought to give you is a punch in the jaw"

For afroze and then Trumbull said, with totally uncharacteristic mildness, "That&039;s uncalled for, Charles I told you the way in which we play our game when I invited you to dinner I do not deny that Mario is often idiotic, as are we all - always excluding our good Henry - but he was in this case within his rights He was asking a question, and he iven to understand that you must answer all questions truthfully Whatever you say will never pass outside this rooize to you, Mr Gonzalo, and to all the cons of continuing anger, "I suppose it ht be successful in Hollywood, especially if I really looked like that sketch you have drawn, Mr Gonzalo I suppose you meant it to represent ether

"Good looks, assuet me into the movies, but I doubt they couldability as well - so I do not have Even then, it could not make me happy unless I had the actor&039;s te what I want to do - studying the languages of humanity - for the reasons I have mentioned and if it returns an adequate compensation, I am quite ready to dismiss the dreams of avarice Have I made that clear?"

"Very clear," said Gonzalo, "but what makes you think you lack the temperament of an actor? I know a number of actors and they co ability, it seems to me you have the capacity for - histrionics, if Manny will tell me that is indeed the word I want"

"That&039;s the word you want - for once," said Rubin

Soskind bowed his head for a h the clouds had thinned and the sun had broken through His smile was all but irresistible

"Gentles hard for you I do not wish to do that Honestly! It is just that these last ten days or so I have not been iven to histrionics, and I will display none henceforth"

Several of the Black Widowers spoke at once and Truly "Mario has the floor!"

"Thank you, To to ask "Why are you not yourself? And please don&039;t say that it&039;s private or that it&039;s none of my business It&039;s my question and I want an answer"

"I understand," said Soskind, cal lady hom I was - am - oh, hell, alwayslike a romantic jackass, betrayed me and - and - Well, what more is there to say?"

"Did she run off with your best friend?" asked Gonzalo

Soskind looked revolted "Of course not Nothing like that! She&039;s not that kind of woman"

"Well, then, what happened?" asked Gonzalo

Avalon&039;s baritone voice boomed out "Wait! Before you answer, Mr Soskind - and with your permission, Mario - please tell me if there is any mystery to this"

"Mystery, sir?" Soskind looked nonplussed

"Yes Anything you don&039;t understand; anything that puzzles you and that can&039;t be explained"

Soskind said, "Not at all! I wish there were! It&039;s all very plain and, forClaire broke her word, that&039;s all She took an unfair advantage and didn&039;t even have the decency to be ashamed of it I couldn&039;t live with that no ht be in love with her - But it doesn&039;table to live with it"

"No ht want to let the matter drop then, Mario Why probe a sore subject just for the sake of probing it?"

"Thank you," said Soskind

Gonzalo frowned "Unless Toainst me, Jeff, I won&039;t drop the subject I&039;m curious"

Trumbull hesitated "I&039;ll poll the company How many want the subject dropped?"

He and Avalon raised their hands, and Tru the subject Henry - are you voting?"

Henry, as just adding a drop of brandy to Drake&039;s glass, said, "Yes, sir My hand was not raised I feel that if Mr Soskind still feels an affection for the young lady, he ht help if he tells us the details"

Rubin said, "I was pretty ," and now there was a reement about the table

Soskind looked froht, I&039;ll tell you, but you&039;ll find there&039;s simply no doubt about theher"

"You know," said Soskind, "it&039;s particularly hard forwoman I can be interested in Please don&039;t make mock faces of disbelief I do attract instant female attention because, I suppose, of my - my appearance, as I would if I were ostentatiously wealthy, or if I were a rock star, but of what value is instant attention for superficial reasons such as those?

"Being hue of such attention, particularly if I a more than a matter of superficial appearance that attracts the or other that is really of no ientlemen, and so, it may be, are they

"On the other hand,woerated expressions of disbelief at that, Mr Gonzalo There areh no fault of my own

"Unfortunately, the novelists who form our stereotypical beliefs invariably make their heroines incredibly beautiful but only very rarely stress the good looks of the hero The ly plain The result is that if I am considered not plain, I arouse instant suspicion

"I have heard the comments, indirectly &039;Who wants a boyfriend prettier than I aht for a chance at theis universal that if a , unquote, as I was accused of being by this assee, at least by implication, then he must be vain, self - centered, capricious, and, worst of all, a si, brainless fool

"These days, in fact, wo homosexual tendencies - which I do not, by the way - simply because quote, that&039;s the ith all these pretty men, unquote

"As it happens, I am a serious person I don&039;t mean by that that I lack a sense of huh, or that I do not occasionally enjoy being silly The point lies in the use of the word &039;occasionally&039;

"For the htforward application of nose to grindstone, of myself to my career and to my intellectual interests And I want my women serious, too