voice asked.
“Andrea? It’s Cathy. Pat’s right here.” Cathy took Kyle and handed off the phone, watching the FBI agent’s face.
“Yeah, honey?” Pat said. Then he listened, and his eyes closed for two or three seconds, and that told the tale. His tense face relaxed. A long breath came out slowly, and the shoulders no longer looked like a man anticipating a heavy blow. “Yeah, baby, I came over to see Dr. Ryan, and we’re in the nursery. Oh, okay.” Pat looked over and handed over the phone. Cathy cradled it between her shoulder and ear.
“So, what did Madge say?” Cathy asked, already knowing most of it.
“Normal—and it’s going to be a boy.”
“So, Madge was right, the odds were in your favor.” And they still were. Andrea was very fit. She wouldn’t have any problems, Cathy was sure.
“Seven months from next Tuesday,” Andrea said, her voice already bubbling.
“Well, listen to what Madge says. I do,” Cathy assured her. She knew all the stuff Dr. North believed in. Don’t smoke. Don’t drink. Do your exercises. Take the classes on prepared delivery along with your husband. Come see me in five weeks for your next checkup. Read What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Cathy handed the phone back. Inspector O’Day had taken a few steps and turned away. When he turned back to take the phone, his eyes were unusually moist.
“Yeah, honey, okay. I’ll be right over.” He killed the phone and dumped it back in his pocket.
“Feel better?” she asked with a smile. One of the lionesses came over to take Kyle back. The little guy loved them all, and smiled up at her.
“Yes, ma’am. Sorry to bother you. I feel like a wuss.”
“Oh, bullcrap.” Rather a strong imprecation for Mrs. Dr. Ryan. “Like I said, life isn’t a movie, and this isn’t the Alamo. I know you’re a tough guy, Pat, and so does Jack. What about you, Roy?”
“Pat can work with me any day. Congratulations, buddy,” Altman added, turning back from the lead.
“Thanks, pal,” O’Day told his colleague.
“Can I tell Jack, or does Andrea want to?” SURGEON asked.
“I guess you’ll have to ask her about that one, ma’am.”
Pat O’Day was transformed, enough spring in his step now to make him collide with the ceiling. He was surprised to see that Cathy was heading off to the OB-GYN building, but five minutes later it was obvious why. This was to be girl-girl bonding time. Even before he could embrace his wife, Cathy was there.
“Wonderful news, I’m so happy for you!”
“Yeah, well, I suppose the Bureau is good for something after all,” Andrea joked.
Then the bear with the Zapata mustache lifted her off the floor with a hug and a kiss. “This calls for a small celebration,” the inspector observed.
“Join us for dinner tonight at The House?” SURGEON asked.
“We can’t,” Andrea replied.
“Says who?” Cathy demanded. And Andrea had to bow to the situation.
“Well, maybe, if the President says it’s okay.”
“I say it’s okay, girl, and there are times when Jack doesn’t count,” Dr. Ryan told them.
“Well, yes, then, I guess.”
“Seven-thirty,” SURGEON told them. “Dress is casual.” It was a shame they were no longer regular people. This would have been a good chance for Jack to do steaks on the grill, something he remained very good at, and she hadn’t made her spinach salad in months. Damn the Presidency anyway! “And, Andrea, you are allowed two drinks tonight to celebrate. After that, one or two a week.”
Mrs. O’Day nodded. “Dr. North told me.”
“Madge is a real stickler on the alcohol issue.” Cathy wasn’t sure about the data on that, but then, she wasn’t an OB-GYN, and she’d followed Dr. North’s rules with Kyle and Katie. You just didn’t fool around when you were pregnant. Life was too precious to risk.
CHAPTER 38
Developments
It’s all handled electronically. Once a country’s treasury was in its collection of gold bricks, which were kept in a secure, well-guarded place, or else traveled in a crate with the chief of state wherever he went. In the nineteenth century, paper currency had gained wide acceptance. At first, it had to be redeemable for gold or silver—something whose weight told you its worth—but gradually this, too, was discarded, because precious metals were just too damned heavy to lug around. But soon enough even paper currency became too bulky to drag about, as well. For ordinary citizens, the next step was plastic cards with magnetic strips on the back, which moved your theoretical currency from your account to someone else’s when you