Goldengirl

The first indication that Serafin had his own ideas about the direction of the interview had come when the adoption was mentioned. He had insisted on outlining his research project. The interviewer had gone along with him for a short while, then put in a mild inquiry about the relevance of this to Goldine’s track career, but Serafin had refused to be sidetracked. He had gone on for another half minute. Then he had brought it around to Goldine: ‘The research involved tracing people, you see. Goldine’s mother was one of them. She had emigrated to California. When I tried to locate her, I learned about the accident. Out of compassion, my wife and I decided to adopt the child.’

‘Out of compassion,’ repeated the interviewer without emphasis.

‘That was what I said.’

‘She had this exceptional physique, you said.’

Serafin refused to be drawn. ‘That did not influence our decision.’

They moved on to Goldine’s upbringing.

‘She went to school?’

‘She was educated at home.’

‘Why was that, Dr. Serafin?’

‘I wanted to be sure her physical potential was not neglected.’

‘It had, er, come to your notice by then?’

‘As a physiologist, I recognised that she was exceptionally advanced in muscular and skeletal development.’

‘You figured she was a future sports star?’

‘I suspected she could be, with the right encouragement.’

‘The right encouragement. That meant home schooling. Anything else?’

‘Physical exercise. I fitted up a home gymnasium.’

‘Vaulting boxes, wall bars, weights — that kind of thing?’

‘That kind of thing,’ Serafin repeated with a slight hesitation, as if uncertain whether he was being led into a trap.

A pause.

‘Quite an outlay, I guess, Dr. Serafin — home tutors and all that apparatus?’

‘It was worth it to me. As an investment.’

The shot switched to the interviewer, his eyebrows lifted inquiringly. ‘You mean a profit-making venture?’

Serafin shifted in his chair. ‘No, no. I used the word in a figurative sense. By providing facilities I was investing in Goldine’s health, her physical development. At the time we are talking about, when I installed the home gym, the Olympics were twelve or thirteen years ahead. Surely you must see that all those years ago I could not have been thinking in terms of financial reward.’ Sensing that in avoiding one snare, he was stepping into another, Serafin drew back. Too obviously. ‘Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting athletes gain anything financially from winning the Olympics.’ Now the camera zoomed in to see how he was holding up. The sweat was beading on his forehead and his eyelids flickered as he stated, ‘Goldine is strictly an amateur. She runs for love of the sport.’

The interviewer let that hang in the air a moment.

‘Okay, let’s get back to the time when you first learned she could run fast. How exactly did you discover she had this superlative speed?’

‘Not merely speed. A superlative physique,’ said Serafin, riding that one smoothly. ‘That was obvious to me when she was a child.’

‘The running,’ gently pressed the interviewer. ‘When did the Olympic idea take root?’

‘I wish you wouldn’t single out the running as if that is the only manifestation of her ability,’ said Serafin, recouping some confidence. ‘She would excel in any sport involving agility, given time to acquire the necessary skill. On the Sheldon classification she rates as a mesomorph, despite her unusual height—’

The interviewer wasn’t being bulldozed. ‘You hired one of the best track coaches in America to help Goldine acquire the necessary skill for Moscow. That was two years ago, wasn’t it?’

‘Where is this leading?’ demanded Serafin, folding his arms defiantly. ‘You want me to admit I staked thousands of dollars to help Goldine win the Olympics? Well, I don’t deny it. I provided every facility I could afford. Not for profit.’ He leaned forward in the chair. ‘I did it in the interest of science. Such is the stranglehold of the media that even scientists are compelled to resort to publicity to get their research noticed.’

‘Research? You mean she is running to publicize some theory of yours?’

‘I mentioned the project just now,’ said Serafin with a click of impatience. ‘My investigations into human growth.’

The interviewer looked puzzled. ‘I’m sorry, Dr. Serafin, I’m a little slow. Maybe it’s the time of day. I just don’t see where your theory of growth fits into this.’