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"To Seattle," Maryanne returned "Thecity on the West Coast"

"But, please, don’t let anyone know," he coaxed in a stage whisper

"I’ any promises," she whispered back

They tasted the wine, which had coue at the paper Maryanne had only recently learned that wines fro a world reputation for excellence Apparently the soil, a rich sandy loam over a volcanic base, was the reason for that

They talked about the wine for a few minutes, and the conversation flowed naturally after that, as they compared experiences and shared impressions Maryanne was surprised by howthe company of this man she’d considered a foe Actually, they did have several things in co his company simply because she was lonely, but she didn’t think that was completely true Still, she’d been too busy ork to do any socializing; she occasionally saw a few people from the paper, but other than that she hadn’t had tilass of wine, feeling war to ad to Seattle

"It’s been so long since I went out on a real date," she said

"There does seeled and nodded "At least Dad’s not sending along a troupe of eligible et , but every ti iven him my phone number You’re the first man I’ve had dinner with that Dad didn’t handpick for me since I ar, but I have the distinct impression your daddy would take one look at me and have ued "My dad isn’t a snob, only…only if you do meet him take off the raincoat, okay?"

"The raincoat?"

"It looks like you sleep in it All you need is a hat and a scrap of paper with ‘Press’ scrawled on it sticking out of the band--you’d look like you worked for the Planet in Metropolis"

"I hate to disillusion you, sugar, but I’ue and I’ers "And we had such a good thing going" She was feeling too ar

"So how old are you?" Nolan wanted to knoenty-one?"

"Three," she amended "And you?"

"A hundred and three in comparison"

Maryanne wasn’t sure what he ood to have someone to talk to, so her contemporary

"If you don’t want to tell me how old you are, then at least fill in some of the details of your life"

"Trustas yours"

"Borea deep breath "My family was dirt-poor Dad disappeared about the time I was ten and Mom took on two jobs to make ends meet Get the picture?"

"Yes" She hesitated "What about wolorious history"

"I’, Nolan"

"You think I was?"

"You’re not ed as if it was of little consequence "No time for it I ca career noble enough Her father tried to fix me up with a job in his insurance office"

"What happened?"

"Nothingto work for the paper, and she claienerous offer It didn’t take ht--I didn’t love her"

He sounded nonchalant, iret, but just looking at him told Maryanne otherwise Nolan had been deeply hurt Every sarcastic irreverent word he wrote suggested it

In retrospect, Maryanne hly enjoyed her evening with Nolan They’d eaten, and he’d raved about her Irish stew until she flushed at his praise She’d made them cups of café au lait while he built a fire They’d sat in front of the fireplace and talked for hours He’d told her e family, his seven brothers and sisters How he’d worked his way through two years of college, but was forced to give up his education when he couldn’t afford to continue As it turned out, he’d been grateful because that decision had led to his first newspaper job And, as they said, the rest was history

"You certainly seeood mood," her coworker, Carol Riverside, said as she strolled past Maryanne’s desk later that same afternoon Carol was short, with a pixielike face and friendly manner Maryanne had liked her from the moment they’d met