Chapter 14Julien’s Oregon home
The kitchen
Thursday, early afternoon
“Would you prefer milk, juice, or soda, dear?” Marie opened the refrigerator. Isabel was conspicuously missing. Let the grilling begin. Richard grimaced.
“Milk, please.” Marie poured him a large glass of milk.
“Isabel says you’re going to NYU for your master’s, son.” Arnaud raised his head expectantly.
“Yes, I graduated first in my class from MIT eighteen months ago. I always intended to go back for my master’s but my father died and Mom got an aggressive form of breast cancer. It was up to me to take care of her.”
“And then Charles tells me you lost your job. You were the unnamed engineer from Switched Power Designs that blew the whistle on the hot components in the troop transport.” Arnaud again looked to Richard
