Lydia asked if the matter could be discussed over Skype, but Cara was firm. She wanted to meet in person and as soon as possible. Lydia agreed, and Cara was on the next flight out to Michigan. The two could have met at the hotel or one of the restaurants dotting the edge of campus, but that didn’t promise privacy. In friendly East Lansing, too many people would stop by Lydia’s table to say hello. Lydia prepared her guest room and hoped the young woman did not mind the quirks of a home with small rooms so common in the 1930s. She set the table in the breakfast area, cozy in pale yellow with just a few touches of red—and drove to three stores to collect vegetables, bread, and cheese for a tapas-style meal and a bottle of cabernet for the evening—Caymus Special Selection. Cara was from San Francisco and would appreciate the gesture. Lydia wanted a consultant and confidante. The young woman arrived six hours later, dressed in beige corduroys and a hooded tweed sweater.
