"I figured as much," Wren said, leaning back in his chair. "Not me. I've got three years left and I'm dropping out. I sometimes think about what I've missed, the places I haven't been, and hell, Bill, life's too short. Aren't you coming out too? Remember all the time—"
"I don't know what to do with it," Smith said. "I never learned it."
"Well, hell," Wren said. "Nowadays, sixty-five is quite young. You have time to learn things that..."
"It's Loomis, isn't it? He puts you under pressure."
Wren grinned. "Sure. What did you expect?"
Smith remained silent for a moment. Then he said, "Tell Loomis that I wouldn't talk to you about it. Tell him that at my age I have become so quarrelsome and irritable that you can't do anything with me. He will have done that himself."
Wren laughed and sho
