No! Way! No fucking way!”Melody wasn’t far behind, “You’re not serious, are you? You mean he’s here? In town right now? No way!”“Tell yo... what,” I said, “How about I call him back right now and get this cleared up? That work for you?” Both nodded and then started to giggle like school girls at the thought. I couldn’t blame them. After all, how many times did you get to listen in on this sort of conversation?I called the hotel and asked for ‘Johnny Mellow’. The switchboard hummed a bit, and then. I was assured by my informant, a certain Mrs. Horrigan that she was at loose ends after breaking up with a fast-talking salesman who turned out to have a wife down San Jose way. I had cultivated Mrs. Horrigan into a reliable source of all rumors past and present to keep me appraised of the lay of the land and insure I did not embarrass myself too badly in front of the horde of female workers that would like to punish me for not using them as playthings like the supervisors before me.She was the. I had the same hope, not just for her, but for me as well.July 31, 1983, McKinley, Ohio“Good morning, Natalya Vasilyevna!” Father Nicholas said when Tasha arrived at Saint Michael the Archangel Church on Sunday morning.“Father, Bless!” Tasha replied.She cupped her hands, Father Nicholas made the sign of the cross over them, and she kissed his hand.“What brings you here today?”“My dad is filling in at the cathedral for Protodeacon Seraphim.”“Which makes you a free agent for the day!” Father. I'm not shy, and so far I haven't met anyone here that I don'tlike, but it's a little intimidating being the shortest person in thecity other than the children. Julie's dad is fifteen feet tall and lovesto brag about it. I'm nearly six feet, so yeah, I have to crane my neckto talk to him.After using the bathroom and returning to my room, Julie was holding acoffee mug out to me. Raising an eye, I took it and tasted it. The normalflavor was there, but the way she handed it to me made me worried..