Killers of a Certain Age

While she is packing for their departure, Helen comes to see Billie. She urges Billie to leave Minka behind as it is unfair to Minka to force her to face the regrets the older women carry. Billie reflects, “she hadn’t said his name, but I knew exactly who she was thinking of […] Taverner.”

In this flashback to November 1981, Billie is in a bar, nervously anticipating a mission. When a man joins her, they are both so stunned by their mutual attraction they forget to exchange passphrases to verify they are both with the Museum. He introduces himself as Christopher Taverner, and Billie, picking up on his accent, immediately nicknames him “English” (179). They joke about their chemistry, and Taverner offers to be the stay-at-home parent to their children. More seriously, he reminds Billie fraternization is forbidden. Billie, in turn, reminds him that as a woman, she would be more compromised than he would be by their affair. They exchange mission details and successfully carry out their assassination. That night, Billie thinks about the urge to affirm life in the face of death and goes to Taverner’s door. They have a passionate night together, and he gives her his St.