“I know we owe you a debt. I won’t forget it.” Gabriel lowered his voice.
Jeremy stepped back.
“This isn’t the time or the place.”
“Then perhaps we could talk in the hall? Come on, Jeremy, we were friends for years. I’m trying to apologize.”
Jeremy grimaced. “All right. Ladies, excuse me.” He nodded at Katherine and Julia before following Gabriel into the hallway.
“That went well.” Julia turned to Katherine.
“We’ll see. If they return without having spilt any blood, I’ll agree with you.” Katherine’s eyes sparkled impishly. “Shall we watch through the door?”
Over dinner at their home that evening, Gabriel and Julia were determined not to announce her pregnancy to Katherine. They’d resolved not to tell anyone until she was in her second trimester.
(However, they did nothing to hide the telltale sign of the Volvo SUV that Gabriel had recently purchased, which was parked in the driveway.) While Gabriel was in the kitchen making coffee, Katherine turned her all-seeing eyes on Julia and tapped a single finger on top of the linen tablecloth.
“You’re expecting.”
“What?” Julia faltered, putting her water glass down so she wouldn’t spill.
“It’s obvious. You aren’t drinking. You declined coffee. Your husband, who by all accounts is very solicitous, is hovering over you as if you were made of china, while simultaneously trying to hide his extreme, testosterone-laden pride. You can’t fool me.”
“Professor Picton, I—”
“I thought we’d agreed you’d call me Katherine.”
“Katherine, I’m not very far along. We aren’t telling anyone, including family, until I’m in my second trimester.”
“That’s wise. It might be good for you to put off telling your department until the last possible moment.” Katherine sipped her wine thoughtfully.
“I’m afraid to tell them.”
Katherine put her glass down. “Can you tell me why?”
Julia’s hand went to her abdomen. “There are several reasons. I’m worried they’ll think I’m not serious enough and that Cecilia will drop me as a student.”
“Nonsense. Cecilia has three children, two of which she had while she was a graduate student in Pisa. Next problem.”
Julia paused, her mouth open.
“Um, I didn’t know that.”
“I’ve known her for years. She’s a working mother who is determined to carve out time for her family. That’s why they spend their summers in Italy, so the children can be with their grandparents. Next problem.”
“Um, I’m worried they’ll take away my funding and I’ll lose my fellowship.”
“Universities are very different from when I was a student. There are legal issues that would prevent your department from doing that. You’re entitled to a maternity leave just like everyone else. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, Harvard has a committee on the status of women that would ensure you are treated fairly. Even if your department were chaired by a fool, and it isn’t, he’d have to follow the guidelines. Next problem.”
“I’m not asking for a maternity leave. But I was told by my doctor I’d need to take at least six weeks off after the baby is born. I’m worried my chair will force me to deregister for the semester.”
Katherine frowned. “Not take a maternity leave? Are you mad?”
Julia started to protest, but Katherine lifted an aged, wrinkled hand.
“I might be an old maid, but I know you won’t be able to do justice to your program, or your newborn, if you don’t take a maternity leave. You are allowed one. You should take it.”
“Won’t the department frown on it?”
“Some of the old fossils might, but if you have the support of your supervisor, what does it matter? My advice is to speak to Cecilia and ask for her advice. She’ll know best how to guide you. Don’t let the misogynists drive you into an impossible situation.”
Katherine tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I’m always eager to fight injustice. Let them try to injure you. In fact, I have half a mind to accept Greg Matthews’s offer to join his department just to ensure that they don’t.”
Julia’s jaw dropped. “You’d consider that?”
“I’ve decided to sell my house and leave Toronto. All Souls is eager to have me join them in Oxford on a more permanent basis, but the truth is there are only a few fellows in that college that I can tolerate. It’s making my meals in college most unpleasant.”
“It would be wonderful to have you at Harvard.”
“I’m beginning to think so, too.” Katherine’s eyes shone. “This is where all the action is. Greg promised me he’d move my library personally. I want to accept his offer simply to see him hand-packing my books.”
Julia laughed at the thought of Professor Matthews, who was very distinguished, moving Professor Picton’s extensive private library by hand.