The Lesson Read Free Page A

agent?” Gina had never known anyone who aspired to a life behind a badge.
    “It’s important work. Fight crime. Sneak around and follow people.”
    “Oh I bet you’d be good at that,” said Gina, smiling at her attempt to be funny.
    He returned the smile.
    “But don’t you need a degree to become an agent?”
    “Yes, you do," said Kevin. "I took a few classes at the University of Hawaii when I was on Midway Island, at a satellite school. But I plan to enroll full-time as soon as I get out of the Navy.”
    “Why not become a firefighter like your dad?”
    “Actually I tried that when I first enlisted. Rode a big red truck on Midway Island.”
    “Where’s Midway Island?” Gina had heard of it but had never thought about its location.
    “It’s in the Pacific. Halfway between the U.S. and Asia. That’s how it got its name. A strategic battle was fought there in World War II. Not much happening there now, though. It’s just a few little islands thrown together in the middle of the ocean. The only excitement there for sailors now is Mail Call. The Navy sent me there when I was eighteen. It was my first time away from home. I nearly died of boredom.” He paused and looked down at his plate as if remembering the pain. “And loneliness.”
    That was a sad thought. Kevin, so far from home, so alone, and so young too. Gina had not known the acute pain of loneliness until just recently when Michael left. Now she understood why they called it pain. Hearing of Kevin’s experience instantly fanned the smoldering coals of her own burning loss into a hot flame within. She tried to cool them by getting control of her thoughts. Tonight’s events were weird enough without her falling apart over Michael in front of a stranger. Again. She had to pull herself together. Thoughts led to memories which led to pain which led to tears. Stop it! She must discipline herself to think only forward, to dream only of the future, to imagine someone wonderful. It was masochistic to keep reliving painful memories from the past. She could be happy again. There was someone perfect out there, somewhere. She must be patient. She must have faith.
    “Wasn’t there a town or something there for you to visit?” said Gina.
    “No, no town. Just a few civilians employed by the military. They lived in these old, 1940s style homes. Everything we needed to live, including entertainment, was shipped in by the Navy. The highlight of our week was a new-release movie. And of course, mail from home. But I didn’t get much mail. And when there wasn’t a new movie, we chased gooney birds.”
    “What’s a gooney bird?” Gina had finished her eggs. She pushed her plate toward the center of the gray Formica table and leaned in with her elbows to listen.
    “It’s this big, floppy, black-and-white bird. They’re everywhere on Midway. It’s an albatross, actually, Laysan Albatross . There are lots of other birds on Midway, but nothing like this clown. It’s about a foot-and-a-half high.” Kevin held one hand above the table. “I think the Navy imported them years ago to distract the sailors from the fact that there is nothing to do and no girls on the island.”
    “How so?”
    Gina forgot, at least for a moment, the polyester pants and too-clingy sweater as she concentrated on his storytelling. Kevin told a wonderful story, with lots of animation and perfectly timed facial expressions. And she was no longer nervous about his being there, though she certainly should have been more circumspect, considering she hardly knew him and he had brashly tailed her car from Cupertino to Santa Clara to learn where she lived. Her mother had opinions on scallywags who committed such scandalous acts. Gina had a good idea of what those were. She tried not to think about them.
    “You’d have to see them in action to believe it. When they’re courting, they sort of sound like cows. One will throw its head all the way back, like this.”
    Gina was incredulous but