"Absolutely!" I said, crossing my heart. "I absolutely have no designs on your virtue." Why not?" she asked, her voice arching this time. "Am I ugly o... something?"I blinked, but didn't have time to come back with anything, because Timothy was back with his artist kit, which he opened on my lap. He had obviously spent a lot of time going through it, because he already had a number of the esoteric names for colors memorized, and pointed them out proudly."Will you draw my picture?" I asked."I'll. Once, at a school event, she had chosen an empty seat in the middle of a row he was sitting in and, squeezing past him, brushed his knees with hers, not looking at him. Tag. Once, standing at her open locker, she felt the back of a hand brush across the back of her skirt and turned to see his retreating back. Tag.In the evenings she would often sit in the window-seat with a book, every so often glancing down to where the drops he had spattered on the window, now dried and nearly translucent,. I buried myself in my work for the next two and a half months. One day Jerry came to my office. The look on his face told me something was wrong. "Susan, please come with me to my office." It was a command, not a request. I walked with Jerry. "What is it? Is it Mike? Is something wrong with Mike?" Jerry's jaw was tight. We entered his office and a US Navy officer was sitting in a chair by Jerry's desk. When he saw me, he immediately stood. "Susan, this is Captain Reeber, Captain, Mrs. Susan. I couldn't take my eyes off of Patti, who was playing next to Harold and was trying to ignore his constant banter. What was the giant saying to her, about her?Kim asked most of the questions, mainly centered on my tennis experience. I admitted that I had played mixed doubles, competitively. "That was a few years ago when I was in high school," I clarified. "Now I just play for fun. A friend and I take on all comers at school."Sara, who wasn't playing, must have noticed my interest in the way.