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“Ooh, look,” Julie said, “he’s raking by the ”

“I guess it doesn’t hurt to look, though,” Marlee added with a grin

Paul put his hands on his hips and struck a erial pose “Don’t you people have work to do?” He was enjoying their conversation as much as they were Their appreciation of Ian’s beauty reinforced his own impressions What made it even more fun for Paul was that he was the only one in the roo was He was surprised at howa secret with Ian

“Oh, Paul,” Julie said “You just don’t understand”

Paul hummed a little tune as he went into his office

The Phone Call

“Suppose a Man was carried asleep out of a plain Country ahest Mountains, when he wak’d and look’d about him, he wou’d think himself in an inchanted Country, or carried into another world; every Thing wou’d appear to hiin’d before”

—Thomas Burnet, The Sacred Theory of the Earth, 1684

The next evening, Paul was sitting in front of the television He wasn’t so , he picked up the remote and hit theat the name of the caller

“Hi, it’s Ian Finnerty” Ian’s voice was familiar, yet also deeper than Paul re at his face

“How are you doing?” Paul asked, sitting up straight “Are you in trouble?”

“No I’m fine Well, I really want a drink”

“You’re not going to, are you?”

“I thought maybe I’d call you instead”

“I’lad you did,” Paul said as he picked up the re?”