We sat down on the blanket and she leaned over to pass me a cigarette. I took it, being careful not to look directly at her. There was much too much to see and my blood pressure was already high enough.
We smoked in silence for a while, watching the seagulls preen themselves on the rocks to which they had returned when the boat stopped moving.
"John, do you really believe the virus is a natural mutation?"
"I don't know, Baby, I just don't know."
"Then why do you keep arguing with Dr. Hallam about it?"
"I'm not arguing, Baby. I'm trying to keep this thing within the bounds of reason. We haven't a single bit of evidence yet to prove it isn't a natural disease, so why go overboard?"
"The structure of the virus isn't normal."
"So far, that seems to be so, but that doesn't prove it's synthetic either."
"But what if it does cause permanent damage to the ovaries?"
"Then, Toots, this old continent of North America is in one hell of a fix."