"Veronica, there is a large yellow vehicle here to take you to school. Perhaps you'd like to invite the driver in for breakfast?"
"Sorry Dad, but I don't want to be late for class."
"You don't? Are you feeling all right?"
"I also don't want you subjecting him to the third degree."
"I promise to limit myself to the first degree."
"Yeah, but you make the thumbscrews feel as bad as the bastinado."
"Veronica, seriously, if the two of you are going to be dating, I want to talk to him. And he's here early, so you have plenty of time before school."
"Okay, okay."
"Logan, it's been an awfully long time. I was very sorry to hear about your mother."
"Thank you. It's very nice to see you again Mrs. Mars. Welcome back."
"Have you had breakfast yet? I've made waffles."
"Sure." Logan hesitated. "That sounds great."
"So, Logan," began Keith, "I know this must be a difficult time for you." The two of them were sitting at the breakfast table. Keith's briefcase sat beside his chair. The Marses had finished before Logan had arrived, and Veronica was in the kitchen putting their plates in the sink while Lianne prepared breakfast for Logan. Sitting on the table in front of Keith was some object wrapped in a white rag.
"You've always had a gift for understatement, Mr. Mars."
"I've been blessed. Veronica," Keith called out, "why don't you take Backup out for a walk?"
"Okay, but Dad," replied Veronica before tapping at her right thumbnail with her left forefinger and then shaking her head.
After Veronica had left, Keith turned back to Logan and pulled away the rag in front of him to reveal the black metal components of his disassembled Beretta, the pieces of which Keith began wiping off with the rag. "You have to keep them clean and well-oiled," he explained, "if you want them to fire properly. So, Logan, just how long have you and Veronica been seeing each other?"
"Uh, well," began Logan as he eyed what Keith was doing, "I guess it started right around when Duncan left, so it's only been a couple of weeks. Depending on how you count, it didn't even start until a couple of days after…." Logan trailed off as he saw the expression on Keith's face.
"Let's not worry too much about a day or two one way or another" answered Keith as he began brushing out the inside of the barrel. "I generally like to talk with any boy that Veronica dates early on in the relationship."
At that point, Lianne brought in a waffle for Logan, along with a pitcher of maple syrup. "There's some butter too, if you like."
Without looking away from Keith, Logan answered "thank you, but I'm fine."
"Lianne, would you excuse us? I'd like to talk to Logan man-to-man."
"Try not to scare him too much," Lianne answered on her way out.
"So Logan," Keith went on after his wife had left, "I know it probably appears that I allow Veronica a great deal more freedom than I did when the two of you were friends."
"I had noticed that she doesn't seem to worry about her curfew as much anymore."
"That's true. And in most respects," he continued as he oiled the slide, "she has a lot more freedom than most girls her age, wouldn't you say?"
"I suppose that's true."
"And I realize that this is a touchy subject for you, especially given everything we've learned over the last few days, but I get the impression, though," at this point, Keith put the piece he was working on down and looked directly at Logan, "that most of the girls you've dated have also not been subjected to particularly intense parental supervision."
Logan swallowed hard but did not look away from Keith, "You do have a gift for understatement."
"I practice," answered Keith as he began reassembling the pistol. "And I hope it won't be indelicate of me to say that I also get the impression that it's been some time since you've dated a girl who was still a virgin."
"That is true."
"You did know that Veronica is still a virgin?"
"She didn't say so herself," Logan answered after a momentary pause, "but I did know that she hadn't slept with Duncan before they broke up, and I knew that she hadn't been involved very seriously with anyone since then."
"Well, you see Logan, given all the health risks involved in sexual activity in this day and age," Keith explained as he slid a clip into the now reassembled handgun, "I think it would be best for the safety of all concerned if she were to remain a virgin for the foreseeable future, don't you?"
"Absolutely," answered Logan as he nodded his head.
Just then, they heard Backup scratching at the front door. Keith slid the nine-millimeter into his briefcase as Veronica entered with the dog. "So," Veronica began brightly as she removed Backup's leash, "are you ready to go to school?"
"Yes please," replied Logan in a thin but steady voice.
"My dad can be a little intense, huh?"
Logan thought for a moment before saying "it must be learned behavior."
"What?"
"You share his gift for understatement, that's all."
"Okay….You all right though? You look kind of pale."
"I'm fine. It's just, you know, I really wanted to make a good impression on him."
Veronica smiled slightly at that before asking "do you think you succeeded? What did you guys talk about?"
"He mostly talked. I gathered from what he said, though, that you never told him about what happened at Shelly's party."
Veronica bolted upright in the passenger seat. "You didn't tell him, did you?"
"Are you kidding? You think I want to get shot?" After Veronica had relaxed again, Logan asked "are you ever going to tell him?"
"I hadn't planned on it. I just can't tell him. I don't know what he'd do, but…."
"I understand that. Well, your secret's safe with me," Logan answered, touching his index finger to the side of his nose.
The two of them rode in silence for a few minutes before Logan said "so, on a lighter note, have you decided what kind of car you're going to get now that you've totaled that rust-bucket of yours?"
"I don't know that I can afford a new car."
"Why not?"
"Well, since I wrecked the LeBaron myself on purpose, I'm not sure the insurance will cover it."
"Yeah, but don't you have plenty of money now?"
"The fifty grand? I owe ten percent of the reward to Mac," seeing Logan's absence of any recognition, she continued "someone who gave me a lead on where Duncan was, and the rest I'm saving for college."
"Yeah, but what about all the rest of the money you'll be getting from the Kanes, now that you know about, you know?"
"What, Duncan didn't tell you? There's not going to be any paternity suit."
"No, he did tell me. He said his parents would settle out of court to avoid the publicity."
Veronica's mouth dropped open. "They didn't tell him? Of course they didn't tell him."
To be continued….