Social science was the manner in which an impressionable (yet mature) young lady developed an inner sense of flirtation and coquetry with an older man; all done expertly. The divine cues of approval. The red, love-strung pen marks. The subtle namedrop of the dark horse candidate from 1828 that dipped into conversation. The scissor-pang of infidelity when he treated all men equally in her class as if he were constitutionally bound. The mutiny.
Her feelings contained by the cool, logical helmet of a growing academic.
History (the more colloquial term) made it abundantly clear nothing would come to pass between the two (see La Tourneau in index for rare exception). Mukuno both knew this to be true, and strived to keep it this way. She wasn't that rebellious. Every day class would end; each student would pass through his doorway, shaking his hand, while a tiny powder keg erupted in Mukuno's heart. She dreamed of nothing beyond a luxurious hug.
Social science can also describe a sub-group or subculture of the student population that decide the only way to get close to a teacher outside of class without a liability is to offer babysitting jobs to the desired. Mukuno undertook such action in the spring of 2005 when she was called into his room during her Calculus class for an emergency. The crisis: to answer whether or not she was available Friday night- for childcare purposes.
Mukuno took the offer as an opportunity to see Mr. Dell'Orto in his domestic environment: his children, the wife, the pool in the backyard, the book shelves, the bedroom. These adventures into his private sphere granted her membership into a very select group of students who have wiped the poop from an infant's backside containing half the DNA of her beloved.
History also endowed Mukuno with her awareness of boundaries. Deep down, all she wanted to know was how such an intelligent, thoughtful, and wise individual as Dell'Orto lived in his daily life. She wanted to know how he faced present reality when his studies led him to uncover the greatest atrocities of humankind- war, poverty, suffering, injustice, betrayal, silence.
It was an innocent attraction that sent students (not exclusively Mukuno) wildly off to the library to memorize Taft's favorite dessert cheese.
He knew his power. Students also knew he knew his power. The narcissism.