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I raised my eyebrows on the word "home," and he turned to wink at me.

"But it's okay. I like the guys I'm with and I'm learning about engines and mechanics in a way that will be handy when I get out." He turned back to me. "I'm sorry about being late. I was supposed to take you to lunch, now it will have to be dinner. If that's all right, that is," he added.

"Oh . . . of course," I said.

"You'll have to tell me a good restaurant. I don't know much about New York," he explained to Trisha.

"Oh, go to Antonio's on York and Twenty-eighth," Trisha suggested.

"That's too expensive," I said. We had never gone to eat there, but we had stopped to look in at it and it looked very fancy.

"Don't worry about it," Jimmy snapped, that fiery light I remembered in his dark eyes flashing for a moment to announce his pride. "Anyway," he said, his eyes filling with a mischievous twinkle, "you're too dressed up for anything cheap."

I blushed so fast and hard, I felt the heat rise in my neck. When I looked at Trisha, I saw that silly, satisfied smile on her lips.

"Well, then, let's go," I said. "I'm starving."

"She should be; she's been too nervous to eat all day," Trisha revealed.

"Trisha!"

Jimmy laughed. We got up and walked out. "Have a good time," Trisha said.

"Thank you," Jimmy said.

"He's very handsome," she whispered in my ear. When we stepped out of the apartment house, I discovered he had a taxi cab waiting.

"Why didn't you say something, Jimmy?" I cried, knowing what that would cost. "The meter's been running all this time."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "After what I've been through, I deserve to splurge and there's no one I care to splurge with more than you, Dawn. You really do look great," he added as he led me to the cab.

Suddenly, a brilliant sun peeked through the dreary clouds and across the street, trees in vivid colors lit up. It warmed my heart, but made me feel like I had entered a dream, stepped into one of my fantasies.

Here were Jimmy and I, practically two orphans who had been brought up a step past utter poverty, getting ready to go to a fancy New York restaurant. How strange and confusing time and events had been.

It was hard to determine what was real and what was a dream. Maybe for the moment, I thought, it was better not to try.

The restaurant was as fancy as it looked. When we entered, we were asked if we had reservations. Of course we hadn't, but the maitre d' studied his book and then nodded his head. I think he was impressed with Jimmy's uniform.

"I can take care of you," he declared and showed us to a corner table. It seemed to me that everyone at the restaurant was looking at us as we walked through it to sit down. I was so nervous I nearly sent my silverware flying to the floor when I took the napkin out from under it to put it on my lap. We were asked if we wanted cocktails.

Cocktails! I thought. How old did the waiter think I was?

"No, we'll just go right to dinner," Jimmy replied and smiled. "We're starving."

"Very good, sir," he said and left us with the menus. When I saw the prices, my heart stopped.

"Oh Jimmy, some of these dinners cost as much as our week's food bill was."

"I told you not to worry about it," he said. "I haven't spent a penny of my army pay until now," he admitted. And then he told me with pride thick in his voice how he had given Daddy Longchamp some money.

"Tell me how he really is, Jimmy," I said after we had ordered. Jimmy's eyes darkened and the corners of his mouth tightened the way they would whenever he fought back anger or sadness. He gazed down at the table and fingered his silverware.

&n

bsp; "He looked a lot smaller and a lot older to me, guess prison does that to you. His hair was grayer, his face thinner, hut when he set eyes on me, he brightened considerably. We had a long talk about what had happened and he explained why he and Momma did what they did, how they thought they were doing the right thing since your real Momma and Daddy didn't want you and since he and Mamma had tried and failed to have another baby."

Jimmy looked up quickly, his eyes watering.