A Different Kind Of Forever Read Online Free PDF

evening. We may even go out. Are they around?”
    “Sure. Hold on.” Diane called upstairs, waited to hear the upstairs line pick up, then sat down to work. She accomplished quite a bit, her mind very clear. The girls said goodnight at ten, and she settled herself into the couch and began proofreading the freshmen final. When the phone rang, she was startled. The girls’ friends knew not to call this late.
    “Hello?”
    “Hi. Is Diane there?”
    She recognized his voice. “It’s me.”
    “It’s Michael. Did you get everything okay? Dave said he sent a packet over.”  
    She sat up, feeling herself starting to smile again. “Yes, we got it. I can’t tell you how excited they are. You have scored major points here. Seriously. If there’s such a thing as the karma scale, you are way on the plus side. You can be miserable to the next ten people you meet, and you’ll still be ahead. Thank you again.”
    He started laughing.“Is there really a karma scale?”
    “Oh, I haven’t a clue. Maybe. But my daughters are grateful, and so am I.”
      “So, about the concert,” Michael began, “you don’t have to worry about any crazy shit backstage. We’re pretty boring after a show, actually. We’re generally too tired for anything more than a chicken wing and a beer.”
    “You’re sure you won’t mind us back there? I mean, these girls are going to ask for autographs and all that.”
    “Sure, that’s fine. Look, it’s part of the game. We love it, all of us. Besides, all the guys will have people there, it’ll be fun.”
    “Okay. I’ll see you then.”
    “Yes, unless you’d like to have dinner.”
      She felt suddenly off balance. “What do you mean, dinner?”
    “Dinner. It’s a meal. With food, plates and silverware. Sound familiar?”
    She smiled. “Isn’t that from a movie?”
    “Probably. I’m usually not very glib. So, how about dinner? With me. Friday night?”
    “Yes, that sounds great. No, wait. I have a meeting at six. I’m teaching a graduate class next year. I have to go, and it might run late.” She chewed her lip. “I could meet you somewhere?”
    “Sure. How about Marcos, about eight?”
    “I love Marco’s. But if I’m late, we’d lose the table.”
    “Don’t worry. Friday then?”
    “Yes.”  
    “Good.”
    And she hung up, thinking that maybe she had fallen for him after all.

    She did not tell anyone she had a dinner date with him. The girls certainly did not need to know. Sue Griffen casually mentioned her seeing a movie Friday night, but she begged off, using her meeting as an excuse.
    The meeting ran long. Marianne Thomas kept pushing the other faculty members from other issues to Diane’s problem, but it was a tough sell. When the room finally began to clear, Marianne sat by her friend as Diane began gathering her files into her briefcase.
    “What the hell is wrong with these people?” Diane muttered to Marianne. “It’s Friday night, for God’s sake. Don’t they have anything better to do than argue about copy paper?”
    “Of course not,” Marianne said mildly. ‘They’re academics. They don’t have a life. Why would they agree to a Friday evening meeting in the first place if they had someplace else to be? You, on the other hand, have got a hot date.”
    Diane glanced at her friend. “And how can you tell that? Crystal ball?”
    “You’re wearing a silk pantsuit on a Friday. You look fabulous in that color, and you know it, and your perfume is fresh. I don’t have fifty-two different degrees for nothing.”
    “Fifty-two?”
    “Whatever. Where are you going?”
    “Out to dinner.”
    “Anyone I know?”
    “He’s a musician.”
    “That’s interesting. What kind of places does he play?”
    “Oh, you know. Arenas, stadiums,” Diane shrugged. “Madison Square Garden. I’m going to be late. See you Monday.”
    “I want details,” Marianne called after her. “Serious details.”
    She was late after all. It was after eight-thirty when she