“Well Kathryn…” David dragged out the vowels in the two words, figuring that if Kath was trying to set him up she would have to endure a little ribbing first, “I’d hate it if she brought a boyfriend or husband along and I just kept her from him.”
“Actually, she’s single,” Kathryn said, after some brief hesitation.
“Really? That’s fortunate…” David didn’t have the heart to tease her too much, so he opted for informing her of his decision.
“Well, if she already knows Courtney and you think that she could help with what I’m doing, then it’d be pretty silly of me to refuse to talk to her.”
“So I can introduce you to her then?” Kathryn asked.
“Sure Kath, I’d be glad if you did.” Yes, Kath was definitely trying to set him up with this Amanda, “How do you know her anyway?”
“We met in college, she’s a couple of years younger than me and really nice,” Kathryn tried to get in a short and discrete sales pitch, “and I think you’ll like her too. The two of you have a lot in common.”
“What, she too consistently fails to recognize what a great friend you are?”
“No Dave, that’s just you,” Kathryn jumped at the chance to get even with him for his earlier teasing of her but referring to him with the nickname which he had confessed to disliking quite vehemently.
“Yeah, sorry about that… but I’ll see you in about forty-seven minutes,” David glanced up at the clock which sat above the entrance to the Pub and Grill to see that it was now 10:13, having already decided to let the “Dave” bit slide without teasing Kathryn back. Besides, he figured, now they were even.
“Is it that much already?” Kathryn’s voice suddenly reflected a certain sense of urgency, “then I guess I’d better hurry.”
“Kath! Before you hang up… should I buy her a present? Courtney, I mean.”
“Well, that’s entirely up to you, I’m sure that she’d be glad if you did, but if you’re worried that people might think it’s a little weird when you’re her teacher…”
“I’m not.”
“No, I didn’t think you would be. Look, just tell her that it’s my fault for not warning you in time about her birthday and then give her a present some other day.”
“I’ll probably buy two tickets to the movies and give one to her and the other to Jeremy Lang.” David announced.
“So you’ve noticed?”
“Honestly, I think that the only two people in Hope that doesn’t know about Courtney and Jeremy are Courtney and Jeremy. I’ve spent way too much time sitting in my classroom and trying to avoid laughing at the forlorn glances that they send each other when they think that the other person isn’t looking.”
“You were probably just as bad ten years ago,” Kathryn suggested.
“I wish… Anyway, I’ll see you in a bit. And thanks, Kath.”
“You’re welcome,” Kathryn hung up the phone, and David thought that he had heard Bryan’s voice in the background.
David spent the next half-hour immersed in Cynthia Dixon’s journal, reading about how the war began just after she and Charlie Jones had officially become a couple, how the country remained in shock for the next few days after hearing Roosevelt speech about the day that would live in infamy and how so many of the town’s young men, including both the Jones’ boys, would join up. Charlie had joined the Army Air Corps, and the last few entries before his departure for basic training revealed a sense of dread from Cynthia’s part about what the future might hold for him, as well as a desperate eagerness to make the most of what little time they had left together.
But then David was interrupted by the sound of a woman saying “Excuse me” to him.
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