The inside was cooled by air conditioning and more modern than I had expected. Healy seemed to be the type who went in for all the lastest gadgets. His kitchen was a mass of shiny appliances, including a wall oven, a huge refrigerator and a separate freezer. Healy said, “Make yourself at home. I’ll bring up some wine and we’ll build a lunch around it.” He disappeared down a flight of steps. I wandered out of the kitchen and into a dinette with French doors that could be opened to make the room part of a patio. One part of an L-shaped living room also opened onto the patio. The furniture was all very sleek and modern. I wasn’t surprised to find a stack of Playboy on a coffee table. I poked my nose into the other ground floor rooms. There was a small bath and a study. The study was a surprise. It was booklined, the furniture was leather-covered and massive. The entire room was redolent of a less brittle, more leisurely period. I wondered if this was where Healy crawled off to rest when he tired of playing the gay bachelor with his MGA and bright furniture and kitchen toys.
