After dinner he kissed his mother good night and went straight to his room. He lay in bed, going over in his mind the recent events. He listened for his father’s arrival. He had hoped somehow to evade his early-bedtime punishment long enough to tell his story to his father. But he hadn’t counted on his tiredness. He fell fast asleep long before his father came home.
The sound of the car backing out of the driveway awakened Eddie the following morning. He washed and dressed quickly. Perhaps his mother had gone to do a bit of early shopping. It was Saturday. Probably his father would be home for the day. Now might be Eddie’s best chance to tell him what had been running through his mind.
Hurrying into the kitchen, he found his mother at the dinette table having a cup of coffee.
“Hi, Mom. Where’s Dad?” Eddie asked.
“He just drove out, Eddie,” his mother said. “He had to get over to school early.”
“But it’s Saturday.”
“Saturdays haven’t been very restful for your father lately, have they?” his mother said. “He has an appointment with some people from Washington D.C. this morning.”
“About the stolen radioisotope?” Eddie wondered aloud.
“Might be,” his mother said. “He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.”
“Didn’t ask?”