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HE KEPT STARING FOR A FEW SECONDS

"Are you Kathy?" he finally asked

"Yes"

"It's good to see you, pal!" intervened Dr Ca the threshold onto the doorsteps, where the stranger was still standing, to pat his back and shake hands "Sad it has to be under these circu to her, "please meet Jesse

Kathy raised her eyebrows and stared back at the man in his thirties, who, despite the doctor's effusiveness, was still looking at her

"Nice to meet you," she said

The newco before he answered

"It's great to see you at last, Katherine" And then he gently kissed her cheek

Kathy went red, which was a feature of her childhood she had been able to control for the last two decades Itshe couldn't afford right at this hter, Geneva, released her from those seconds of self-consciousness when they careet Jesse

Kathy paid attention to everyone's reactions, hoping to discover as soon as possible who this Jesse was, for she had several good motives The first and most important, of course, was that his name had been Mrs Sloan's last word - not only that: she had expressly asked her to ht to induce her to partiality, since Mary Anne would not have wished her to become acquainted to anyone less than honorable Secondly, Dr Cameron, who had started to win Kathy's respect and trust, was truly pleased to see him And third, she was curious to knohy he had caused such a strong effect on her, for no apparent reason

She raised her head, unconsciously dran by tiain, in the middle of mixed conversations, questions, answers and condolescences, aze

Well, maybe the reason was not so non-apparent When he looked at her, she felt he could see through her skin, her veins and her spine The deepest eyes she had ever encountered

But, on second thoughts, she had once met a man who made her feel dizzy when he smiled And in the end it had turned out that this "dizziness" was not a sy way too ro to ns that eventually were not signs to overwhelm her and lead her to a sure and now still avoidable disappointment