“How long will we be on this plane, Evan?”

“The flight takes an hour. If we ever get off the ground.”

“And then we will be in Montreal?”

“Yes. And our luggage will be in Buenos Aires.”

“ Buenos Aires?”

“I never trust airlines. I’m joking. We’ll be in Montreal when the plane lands, yes.”

“Can we go to Expo tonight?”

“It’ll be too late.”

“I’m not tired, Evan.”

“You’ll be tired by the time we get to the hotel.”

“I won’t. I’m hardly ever tired, Evan. Like you, I need very little sleep. Hardly any sleep at all.”

I looked at her. Minna averages ten hours of sleep in twenty-four, which is a fairly healthy average. I sleep not at all, having lost the habit forever when a shard of North Korean shrapnel performed random brain surgery and knocked out something called the sleep center. I have been awake ever since. My disability pay is $112 per month, and I don’t have to spend a cent of it on pajamas.

“If we went to Expo tonight,” Minna said carefully, “I could sleep late tomorrow. I wouldn’t want you to have to postpone your visit to Expo just because of me. I would be willing to stay up late tonight and sleep tomorrow.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Last Saturday you were equally selfless. You volunteered to accompany Sonya to the children’s zoo.”

“She wanted to see it, Evan. And adults are not permitted unless they are accompanied by children. I thought to do her a favor.”

She has worked the children’s zoo con on every woman I’ve ever brought to the apartment. “If you want,” I said, “we’ll go to Expo tonight.”

“I only wish to be fair with you. Oh, I think it is an airplane after all!”