He recalled the failure of his attempt to convince Theo to remain in the office on Fridays. How could he ever get the boy to give up the underground totally? Bitter salvation lay perhaps in confessing the truth to the Commission, explaining the dangers the boy was exposed to in Crossroads with his predictable refusal to accept the safety of the office. A short-lived safety in any case, the director now realized. The boy’s daily disruptive presence in the office would spell bankruptcy for Ideal, his sole haven from commitment. At best some institution or other seemed the only perspective for him. That or violent death. You gave me the gift of life. I give you too the gift of life, with the mad. The director rebelled against the monstrous alternative. He slowly realized that his connection with the boy could be maintained (and his visits justified) only on one condition. He, Edmond Lorz, past forty and in failing health, must now fully assume the manly role of protector, in fact, not just in theory.
