"That sounds exciting, too."
"I expect it'll be more routine than exciting. But you're right about wondering... I'll be in a military-type program, living in hotels and working on airfields or flying. I won't be able to provide a normal home for Tim. I have thought of that. I've decided he should remain here at Glenview, at least for the duration of the war."
"I'm very relieved to know that, Barbara." Collier caught himself immediately. "I mean, Miss Markey."
"'Barbara' is fine, Stephen."
She liked the sound of his name, after saying it aloud for the first time.
"Do you know very much about Glenview?" he asked.
"Not really, except Tim seems to love it here. Just from the looks of the campus, that could be easy to do. It's quite beautiful, and you seem to have everything here."
"Over a thousand students, boys ranging in age from six to eighteen... Quite competent instructors in every subject a good grammar or high school offers and then some... Over fifteen hundred acres of campus and a lake... Facilities for very sport imaginable... I'm just one of the horse riding instructors.
We teach dressage, jumping, polo... Tim loves horseback riding... we have stables for a hundred horses and fifteen miles of riding trails..."
Barbara broke in briefly. "Tim's mother and I loved riding... He must inherit that from her. But he thinks he 'bounces' too much in the saddle. There was only time to give him a few tips. I told him to ask you about that."
"I will," Stephen said, then remembered something else. "And you're a flier... We have our own airfield... two runways and six Piper Cubs and hangars... Boys in our high school can earn a private pilot's license in our aviation program. Forgive me if I sound like an admissions brochure."
"You're enthusiastic about the academy. That's good."
"What we aim for at Glenview is to help bring out the best in a boy, in every way possible... academically, socially, athletically, and morally. Boys learn self-discipline, personal responsibility, fairness.... An appreciation for diversity because we have boys here from all walks of life and even some from foreign countries now at war. We teach respect for self and others... teamwork and leadership... characteristics upon which personal honor are built."
"You don't have to sell me on Glenview," Barbara said with a smile. "Tim already has."
"So you would adopt him but let him remain here. That's a good plan. But..."