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active. They’re in Finland right now.”
    Eileen sighed. “God, I wish I could say the same! Well, not about my parents. About John’s. The farther away, the better. But it’ll never happen.“
    “They’re difficult?“
    “Honey, ‘difficult’ is the mildest word you could use for them. They’re horrible beyond imagining.“
    “In what way?“ Jane asked. She wasn’t really interested, but she was tired of being questioned and wanted to eat her breakfast.
    “They’re the stingiest people I’ve ever known.
    Mean stingy and hateful to boot. I don’t mean money, I mean they’re stingy with compliments and everything. I tried to do up a little family history for John for his fortieth birthday and went to get information from them, and they flat out told me it was none of my business.”
    Eating and talking didn’t seem to be difficult for Eileen to do at the same time. She was shoveling down her food. “They’re both in frail health, live in a terrible house, and need lots of help. But they figure their boys have wives, and what are wives good for except taking care of them? That’s why I opened the dress shop, to tell the truth. To have an excuse for not becoming their slave. Now when Mother Claypool calls and wants me to come over and clip her toenails or some damned thing, I can say that I can’t leave the shop and I’ll hire a new maid. Of course, she finds some excuse to fire her right away.“
    “What unpleasant people!“ Jane said. “How old are they?“
    “Both are in their eighties. Sam’s the older brother, adopted actually, when they were already too old to be first-time parents. It was just like you hear about—many years of marriage without children, then when they adopted, Mother Claypool got pregnant with John. Do you know, this is the first time ever that all four of us have gotten away from them at once. Somebody always has to stay home to take care of them. Even Sam finally got tired of being their slave.“
    “Even Sam?“ Jane asked, hoping the answer would allow her to finish her eggs.
    “Oh, Sam’s been the perfect son.“ Eileen said it flatly, without a hint of sarcasm. “But even he’s gotten a little snappish lately, which is weird because he’s usually so cool and in control of everything. And Marge is a nervous wreck. You saw that last night. The parents are old and feeble and can’t last forever—I hope. I know that sounds cruel, but I’ve never, in all these years, had a kind word from them. Oh, well, I didn’t mean to chew your ear off about this.”
    Jane had managed to finish her breakfast.
    She smiled and said, “No problem.“

Five

    When everyone had finished breakfast, the tour of the camp commenced with the kitchens, which were much larger than Jane would have guessed. Given enough staff, a great many people could be fed at once. And there was plenty of room for staff to live along the corridor leading off the kitchen area. Benson explained that, as with most summer resorts, the bulk of the employees were college students.
    “It’s harder to find a reliable supply of workers during the school year, but we manage,“ he said. “We usually close the Conference Center and just cater to small groups that occupy the cabins.“
    “What about our own teachers we’d bring along?“ Liz Flowers asked briskly.
    “They could stay in the cabins, provided reservations are made well in advance, but you’d probably want them in the Conference Center with the students,“ Benson replied. “And there would be an extra charge, I’m afraid.“
    “Oh, yes. They’d definitely want to be with the kids in the Conference Center!“ Bob Rycraft said enthusiastically.
    Shelley muttered to Jane, “Handsome, but dim. Why would any sane adult want to be locked up with a bunch of teenagers day and night? I had a great-aunt who decided to spend her sunset years as a housemother in a boarding school. She lasted one semester and needed years of psychiatric care to get over