“Charles doesn’t have dementia,” Wayne said with another indulgent smile. “He isn’t even quite fifty yet. And while I know there are rare cases of early-onset Alzheimer’s, that’s not an issue here. I’ve known Charles for almost fifteen years and he’s been just like this the entire time. A delightful man—brilliant and enthusiastic and good-hearted—but innately eccentric.”
“I’ve met his wife,” Karen volunteered. “The woman is a saint. She adores Charles, but she spends most of her life making sure he’s fully dressed and in the right place at the right time. She raises their two teenagers and handles all the financial and practical business while Charles supports them all with his teaching and publications. He actually made the extended bestseller lists with one of his books a couple of years ago.”
“In Search of a Hero; Mankind’s Lifelong Quest for Role Models.” Wayne beamed as he quoted the title. “A fascinating and insightful treatise, though I had a few minor points of disagreement with some of his generalizations, especially when it pertained to gender.”
“Living with someone like that would drive me crazy,” Julia pronounced with a disapproving shake of her head. “I’d have to strangle him, I’m afraid.”
Knowing Julia, the others just smiled tolerantly. Catherine couldn’t help wondering if Julia would ever be able to live with anyone. As fond as she was of Julia, she was aware that her friend tended to be too critical, especially when it came to men. Julia didn’t just carry emotional baggage from past relationships; she hauled steamer trunks.
Mike’s contribution to the conversation, minor as it had been, had drawn Wayne’s attention to him now. “So you’re taking classes at the university, Mike?”
Mike replied so easily that Catherine was probably the only one who noticed that the question made him self-conscious. “Yeah. I work as the maintenance supervisor at the apartment complex where Catherine and I live, which gives me some free time to take some late-afternoon and evening gen ed classes.”
“What are you taking this semester?”
“American history and biology.”
“Who do you have for history?”
“Dr. Levin.”
Wayne nodded in approval. “She’s very good. I’ve heard she’s quite popular with the students.”
“She makes the classes pretty interesting,” Mike agreed. “And she seems to be genuinely interested in the students.”
“As opposed to the professors who see students as simply an annoying infestation in their academic ivory towers?” Wayne asked wryly.
“Well, yeah. I’ve met a few like that.”
“So have I, I’m afraid. Too many universities these days are so narrowly focused on revenues through sports and grants and corporations that they sometimes neglect the very students we were founded to serve. Students become nothing more than faceless, tuition-paying customers rather than integral partners in the dissemination of knowledge. We shuffle them though the system like products on a conveyor belt, and we lose entirely too many in the process because no one takes the time or care to find out what they need.”
Karen smiled kindly at Mike. “He’s on his soapbox now. This could go on for a while.”
“Actually, I find it interesting.” Mike addressed the comment equally to Karen and Wayne. “I dropped out of college the first time because no one seemed to care if I stayed after I lost my baseball scholarship.”
“But wasn’t it your responsibility to make sure you got an education?” Julia challenged him. “Most universities are too large to personally babysit every student.”
“It was my responsibility, and I hurt no one but myself by dropping out,” Mike agreed evenly. “Still, I might have understood better what I was giving up if anyone had taken the time to act like they cared.”
“We’re trying to do a better job of connecting with our students. Publicizing our student counseling services,” Wayne said. “I’ve posted the hours and services provided there in my classroom and I mention it at the beginning of every semester and before every big exam. I’ve also tried to make myself available as much as possible to students who are struggling.”
“Maybe you’ll take one of Wayne’s classes sometime, Mike.”
“Maybe,” Mike replied to Karen, though Catherine thought he looked doubtful that he would be registering for a philosophy class anytime soon.
“What’s your major, Mike?” Chris asked, apparently trying to think of something to add to the conversation.
“I don’t really have a major right now. I’m just getting some of the required stuff out of the way while I consider what I want to do next.”
“Still trying to decide what you want to be when you grow up?” Julia spoke lightly, as if she were making a joke, but Catherine frowned at her, anyway.
Mike answered without looking at Julia. “Yeah, something like that.”
Chris defused the momentary tension with a chuckle. “Join the club. Orthodontia was hardly my dream as a young man. I was thirty—about your age—before I finally settled down and went back to school. I’ve been practicing for fifteen years, but I’ve got another decade or so left in me before retirement.”
“Actually, Mike’s still a couple of years away from thirty,” Julia murmured. “At least, that’s what Catherine said.”
“You’re only twenty-eight?” Chris looked a bit startled that Mike was even younger than he had guessed.