hat's Heidi doing with an airman? They don't see too many airmen at
Cornell. We've been together since we were fifteen--high school."

"Oh, Jesus," the waitress said, "first time's the worst."

"She didn't say anything, but I saw it in her eyes--just like I saw she
was going to be mine when I asked her in the hallway to go roller
skating." Will shook his head. "I didn't even know _how_ to roller
skate. She looked down and then she looked up and her eyes said yes and
then she said, yes. And that was that. Five years ago."

The waitress took a last drag and stubbed out her cigarette. "You want
something to eat?"

"I don't think so."

"You sure? Piece of toast?"

"Well--toast, maybe." Heidi's friends surrounded him. Their faces were
soft and excited, sure of themselves. They wore expensive sweaters and
sports jackets. They seemed to belong to a club where everything was
taken care of.

The waitress set a plate of toast in front of him. He took one bite and
then another. "Tastes good."

"You gotta eat," she said.

"I drank a lot of beer, after. Heidi had to go back to her dorm. I was
on this path near where the car was parked, and I just lay down in the
path. When I woke up, there was a roaring and a weird light in the
trees. It was a power plant or something that fired up in the middle of
the night. I couldn't sleep, so I found the car. I just wanted to get
out of there."

"Get moving," she said. "I know it's easy to say--but it might be it's
for the best. People do go in different directions."

"Maybe," Will said. "Maybe she'll marry one of those rich guys and live
happily ever after."

The sky outside the window had turned from black to light gray.
"Getting light." He left a ten dollar bill on the counter. "Thanks for
the company."

"You stop in next time by, you hear?"

"O.K. What's your name?"

"Lee."

"O.K., Lee. I'll do that. I'm Will. Take it easy."

The car started right up, that was one good thing. He drove off,
adjusting the rear view mirror, catching a glimpse of the diner before
he went around a curve. He and Heidi had made a whole, and now she was
gone. He drove, and, as the daylight grew stronger, he thought about
the diner--that little room of light in the dark, Lee, and the man
talking about his box. That was something you could hang on to.

Guayaquil

At the sound of wooden blocks struck together, Arthur adjusted his
sitting position and emptied his mind. The echo dimini