From the time that I was in fifth grade, along with the Colleys' beautiful daughter Heather, until they suddenly left after eleventh grade, Mrs. Colle... had been one of my closest friends. It's not that my parents weren't great, but I found that I could talk to "Mrs. C." about anything. I still remembered the afternoon when I had confided to Mrs. C. that I was thinking about asking Heather to the junior prom."Don't," she said abruptly."How come?" I said, pained that she might not think I'd be. It's him. The Angel of New Orleans, and he's taken on his angelic form'. At that point we were the center of attention, as everyone knew what was happening." I figured letting everyone know your business was going to cost you eventually," Mac Schumacher, Patricia's drummer, remarked."Actually it wasn't as bad as it sounds. We'd had the same response when we went to the mall earlier in the day. What ended up happening was that I tended to the type 3s who clustered around me, while handing off. I was a rich guy after my father died suddenly, but I was also a very busy guy. My dad ran a huge construction company and I was a mid-level manager in his company - learning the tricks of the trade before taking things over from him. After his death I suddenly became the boss and had to learn everything quickly to ensure that the business did not suffer. I spent close to six months on the road meeting all the suppliers and clients so that I could become as familiar a face to them as my father. After a while Elaine stopped talking.Simon was still eating. Elaine lay down her knife and fork and sat quietlyfor a few moments. Then she pushed back her chair, got up, and walked slowlyacross the restaurant to where the young man was still sitting. She didn'tlook back at Simon. "Excuse me," she saidto the man. He looked up, surprised. Elaine swallowed. "May I--mayI sit down for a moment?" The man's eyes narrowed. He noddedwarily. She sat across from him. She stilldidn't look over at.