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Lightning slashed through the panoply of clouds again, nearer this tiround nocrash of thunder rattled the tall s

Carol used the interruption provided by the thunderclap to consider her response, and she decided that O’Brian would appreciate forthrightness more than modesty "Yes I’d say I’m an overachiever I’m involved in two of the three charities that Paul has his hand in And I know I’ to have established a psychiatric practice as successful as e on a fairly regular basis And I’ the su, and I do some needlepoint in the winter months, and I even brush

my teeth three tihed "Three times a day, huh? Oh,

you’re hter reassured Carol, and with renewed confidence she said, "I believe I understand what you’re concerned about You’re wondering if Paul and I ht expect too much of our child"

"Exactly," O’Brian said He noticed a speck of lint on his coat sleeve and plucked it off "Parents who are overachievers tend to push their kids too hard, too fast, too soon"

Paul said, "That’s a probleer Even if Carol and I are overachievers--which I’m not prepared to admit just yet--ouldn’t pressure our kids to doEach of us has to find his own pace in life Carol and I realize that a child should be guided, not hammered into a mold"

"Of course," Carol said

O’Brian appeared to be pleased "I knew you’d say that--or soain This time it seemed to strike even closer than before, only a block away Thunder cracked, then cracked again The overhead lights dimmed, fluttered, reluctantly came back to full power

"In my psychiatric practice, I deal with a wide variety of patients who have all kinds of problems,"

Carol told O’Brian, "but I specialize in the mental disorders and emotional disturbances of children and adolescents Sixty or seventy percent of er I’ve treated several kids who’ve suffered serious psychological da, who pushed them too hard in their schoolwork, in every aspect of their intellectual and personal development I’ve seen the wounded ones, Mr O’Brian, and I’ve nursed them as best I could, and because of those experiences, I couldn’t possibly turn around and do to my children what I’ve seen some parents do to theirs Not that I won’t make mistakes I’m sure I will My full share of the the "Valid and very well put I’m sure that when I tell the recommendations committee what you’ve just said, they’ll be quite satisfied on this point" He spotted another tiny speck on his sleeve and re as if it were not merely lint, but offal "Another question they’re bound to ask: Suppose the child you adopt turns out to be not only an underachiever butwell basically less intelligent than either of you For parents as oriented toward an intellectual life as you are, wouldn’t you be soe--or possibly slightly below average-- intelligence?"

"Well, even if ere capable of having a child of our own," Paul said, "there wouldn’t be any guarantee that he’d be a prodigy or anything of that sort But if he wasslowwe’d still love hiht adopt"

To O’Brian, Carol said, "I think you’ve got too high an opinion of us Neither of us is a genius, for heaven’s sake! We’ve gotten as far as we have prih hard work and perseverance, not be-

cause ere exceptionally bright I wish it had come that easy, but it didn’t"

"Besides," Paul said, "you don’t love a person ent It’s his entire personality that counts, the whole package, and a lot of factors contribute to that package, a great s other than just intellect"

"Good," O’Brian said "I’lad to hear you feel that way The committee will respond well to that answer, too"

For the past few seconds, Carol had been aware of the distant wail of sirens Fire engines Now they were not as distant as they had been; they were rapidly growing nearer, louder

"I thinkcaused soe when it touched down," Paul said

O’Brian swung his chair around toward the center hich was directly behind his desk "It did sound as if it struck nearby"

Carol looked at each of the three s, but she couldn’t see any sain, the vieas blurred and visibility was reduced by the water-spotted panes of glass and by the curtains of ray rain that wavered and whipped and billowed beyond the glass

The sirens swelled

"More than one truck," O’Brian said

The fire engines were right outside the office for a moment--at least two trucks, perhaps three--and then they passed, heading into the next block

O’Brian pushed up from his chair and stepped to the

As the first sirens dwindled just a little, new ones shrieked in the street behind them

"Must be serious," Paul said "Sounds as if at least two engine co"

"I see smoke," O’Brian said

Paul rose froet a better look