Times had changed and demanded creative ways of maintaining a large enough student body for our college to survive. The reality was “coed or no ed” as the pro-coed side-my side-warned.

It took the board of trustees and the faculty senate another two years to seal the deal. This fall was to mark the debut of men on campus. The undergraduate enrollment had climbed to more than double what it was last year.

“More men in your life? Should I be worried?” Bruce had asked me.

I let him think so.

The old clock chimed three fifteen. The sound echoed down the empty hallway. During the summer, no classes were held in the Administration Building. The only people around were the admin staff, and whomever the deans summoned. Today that privilege seemed to be mine alone.

I worked the Tiffany puzzle, clicking the dogwood, the grapevine, and the hibiscus into their slots on the different faces of the cube. I checked the other sides. The views of Oyster Bay, the magnolias, and the autumn landscape were lined up correctly. Stunning, but too easy.

“Good afternoon, Sophie.” A statement cum greeting.

I looked up to see Keith Appleton walk toward me. He’d just come through the door from the dean’s office. The not unreasonable thought went through my head that Keith was involved in why I was waiting for the dean right now instead of beading.

“Hey, Keith,” I said, in part to aggravate him. He hated when we faculty took on the slang and tone of the students.

Having made that point, I decided I wouldn’t follow up right now with a request to talk to him about Rachel’s thesis. I needed to time my battles more carefully.

“Did you have a chance to look over the amendment I proposed to the Distinguished Professor bylaws?” he asked.

“Yeah, about that. The change would eliminate several women on the faculty.”

Keith gave me a quizzical look. “Is that a problem?”

“We’d be penalizing women for taking maternity leave.”