Spencerville

in.”
    Jeffrey Porter took off his raincoat and hung it on the peg in the big foyer. He said, “Where do we start after all these years?”
    “We start by me saying you’re bald.”
    “But not fat.”
    “No, not fat. Left-wing, Bolshevik, bed-wetting comsymps are always skinny.”
    Jeffrey laughed. “I haven’t heard those sweet words in two decades.”
    “Well, you came to the right place, pinko.”
    They both laughed and belatedly embraced. Jeffrey said, “You look good, Keith.”
    “Thanks. Let’s get a few beers.”
    They went into the kitchen and filled a cooler with beer, then carried it out to the front porch and sat in rockers, watching the rain, drinking, each thinking his own thoughts. Finally, Jeffrey said, “Where have the years gone, Keith? Is that a trite thing to say?”
    “Well, it is and isn’t. It’s a good question, and we both know too well where they went.”
    “Yes. Hey, I really was a little rough on you back there.”
    “We were all a little rough on one another back there,” Keith replied. “We were young, we had passion and convictions. We had all the answers.”
    “We didn’t know shit,” said Jeffrey, and popped open another beer. He said, “You were the only guy in high school and at Bowling Green who I thought was nearly as smart as me.”
    “Smart as I. Actually smarter.”
    “Anyway, that’s why I was so pissed that you were such an idiot.”
    “And I never understood how a smart guy like you bought the whole line of radical bullshit without thinking for yourself.”
    “I never bought it all, Keith, but I mouthed it.”
    “Scary. I’ve seen whole countries like that.”
    “Yeah. But you bought the whole line of patriotic flag-waving shit without much thought.”
    “I’ve learned better since then. How about you?”
    Jeffrey nodded. “I learned a lot. Hey, enough politics. We’ll wind up having another fistfight. What’s the story? Why are you here?”
    “Well, I got sacked.”
    “From where? You still with the Army?”
    “No.”
    “Then who sacked you?”
    “The government.”
    Jeffrey glanced at him, and they fell into silence.
    Keith watched the rain falling in the fields. There was something very special about watching the rain from a big open porch, and he’d missed this.
    Jeffrey asked, “You married?”
    “Nope. You ever marry that girl…? The hippie with hair down to her ass that you met in our senior year?”
    “Gail. Yes, we got married. Still married.”
    “Good for you. Kids?”
    “No, too many people in the world. We’re doing our part.”
    “Me, too. Where’re you living?”
    “Here. Moved back about two years ago as a matter of fact. We stayed at Bowling Green for a few years.”
    “I heard. Then what?”
    “Well, we both got fellowships at Antioch, and we both got tenured and taught there until we retired.”
    “I think if I’d spent one more year on or around a campus I’d have blown my brains out.”
    “It’s not for everyone,” Jeffrey conceded. “Neither is the government.”
    “Right.”
    “Hey, have you seen Annie since you’ve been back?”
    “No.” Keith opened another beer.
    Jeffrey watched his old friend and classmate, and Keith was aware of the eyes on him. Finally, Jeffrey said. “You can’t still be messed up about that, can you?”
    “No.”
    “I’ve run into her a few times. I keep asking if she’s heard from you, and she says she never had. Funny how we were all so close… those were the days, my friend we thought they’d never end…”
    “We knew they would.”
    Jeffrey nodded. He said, “I’ve asked her to stop by and have a drink with Gail and me, but she keeps putting me off. I was hurt at first, but then I got to know a little about her husband. He’s the fuzz-führer—you know that? Anyway, I saw them at some hospital charity thing at the Elks Lodge once, and Annie was charming, like Annie can be, and this Nazi of a husband was watching her like he was about to make a drug bust—you know what I mean? This Neanderthal was getting himself worked up because she was talking to men—married guys, for Christ sake, doctors, lawyers, and such. She wasn’t doing anything really, and he should have been thrilled that his better half was working the room—God knows, he needs all the good public relations he can get. Anyway, he takes her by the arm, and they leave. Just like that. Hey, I may be a socialist and an egalitarian, but I’m also a fucking snob, and when I see a