“Cecilia; I don’t know how you even hear them bells with such an infernal racket going on.” I motioned for her to remain seated even as we made our way toward the coffee urns. “Nah, nah. You just sit right down there and give little Archie a chance to breathe, you hear?”
She blushed and dropped a hand to her bump, which was more of a basketball. “Little Archie—” And she tittered. “Not X Æ A-Xii—like Steve Dannon and Sharona?”
“The rich can afford to be weird,” said Bennet. He took a Styrofoam cup and began to fill it. “Like that Hugo Eagleton—the guy who wrote The Sleeping City, or whatever. Named his kid ‘Rocket.’ I mean, can you imagine? A kid named ‘Rocket?’” He snickered through his nose. “Going to have to teach that kid how to fight; that’s all I have to say.”
I filled my own cup a
