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"The two antiseptic young men vanished, the woman went with them, the huge, heavy, depressed captain of the team wished me good luck, and Aunt Queen said jubilantly that we could now go up to the rooftop Grand Lumini¨¨re for a nice supper.

"Goblin remained locked to my side, and in the elevator going up to the roof, I felt his right arm tight around me.

"I was calculating; I was going to break in Mr. Nash Penfield right. I wasn't going to let him find out about all this in some delicate manner.

"The restaurant proved a marvelous surprise. Even Aunt Queen's glowing compliments had not fully captured it. We were quite high up over New Orleans, which was great, and huge arched windows were open everywhere to the glowing afternoon around us. There was a colonnade along the east side, where one could stroll in the open air, along a balustrade with Tuscan columns. And within the circular room itself, between the vast windows, there were rich paintings in heavy ornate frames -- a sampling of art from all different centuries.

"I noticed the Dutch art right away. 'My God,' I said to Aunt Queen, 'we're surrounded by Rembrandts. ¡¯

" 'No, dear, they're all fakes, or reproductions, as Rowan Mayfair likes to put it. They were commissioned especially for the restaurant, but don't you worry. You'll be in Amsterdam soon enough, seeing some of the originals. ¡¯

" 'What a dazzling idea,' I said. 'Bringing it all here for people who don't want to go wandering. ¡¯

" 'Now, now, toots,' she said. 'Don't fret about wandering. There's Nash. He's already at the table. Please follow me. ¡¯

"I took the measure of the restaurant before I took the measure of the man, and saw that all manner of people in all manner of dress were seated at the white draped tables. Lots of patients in wheelchairs were dining with family members, it seemed, and many tables had people who appeared dressed for a night on the town, and then there were uniformed doctors and nurses.

"All the tables were round but they varied in size, and ours was set for four, which immediately delighted me.

"In summary, I knew it to be a boldly homogenized and democratic place, yet a place of genuine beauty and refinement, and my heart went out to the woman who had designed it.

"The windows were full of the sun-streaked sky, and I could see the twinkling lights of the two river bridges shining wonderfully in the dusk. I loved it.

"But now it was time to see Nash and to introduce him to Goblin.

"The man who was helping Aunt Queen with her chair was taller even than me (at that time), probably by about two inches. He had wavy black hair with a lot of gray at the sides, and he was dressed in a fine spring suit of blue-and-white seersucker.

"His eyes were pale blue and he had rather deep lines in his face, giving him a bit of a jowled look, but he was in fact slender. His expression was entirely wise and sympathetic, and he took my hand in his warmly.

" 'You're Nash,' I said. 'I thank you for helping with my computer. ¡¯

"His voice came with a depth and color that any man would envy. In fact, it had an effortless professional sound to it that was charming.

" 'I'm delighted to meet you, Quinn,' he said. 'I understand Goblin is with you?¡¯

"We were getting off on the right foot. I presented Goblin to him immediately and I noted Goblin's cold stare as Nash tried his best to be courteous to something he couldn't see.

"We were immediately seated in a nice open circle, and when the waitress approached, I told her that an invisible personage was seated to my left, and tha

t he would be having the same meal I would be having.

"She was horrified.

"Aunt Queen gave her immediate approval of the plan before the young woman could laugh or make some odd remark. And Nash immediately commented on the heavy silver of the table setting.

"I ordered a double vodka martini, with plenty of olive juice and olives, and that went over very well, too, thanks to Aunt Queen immediately ordering the same and one for Goblin, and asking to see the wine list.

"Nash asked for a glass of plain soda water, remarking that he had finished a lifetime of drinking earlier than one might have expected.

"The waitress departed in an anxious flurry.

"Then Nash began to introduce himself, his slow, careful sonorous voice telling of how he and Aunt Queen had met in Europe, where Nash had been shepherding a group of high school students on a tour of the Continent.

"This was apparently Nash's summer job throughout graduate school at Claremont College in California, but he was now finished with all course work for his Ph. D. and needed only to write his dissertation.

"Subject? A thorough investigation as to whether Charles Dickens had ever been edited, and what effect modern editing standards might have had on his work, with heavy reliance on an examination of how Dickens' writings had been abridged in England and America.

"I was immediately interested, and also attracted to this deep-voiced man with the gray at his temples, and I felt I could have listened to his easy eloquence for hours. In fact, I longed to do so. He had a natural wide-eyed expression when he spoke and an inveterate politeness that was totally disarming.