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so many years I don’t think much about walking anywhere alone. Besides, I was planning to stop at the park. I like to go there at night. It’s quiet.”
    “Well you’re not walking alone tonight,” he said.
    Marienne snorted and stared at him.
    “What?” He looked puzzled.
    “Nothing,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips.
    “Tell me. What?”
    “I’m just thinking that guys who are ‘dicks’ don’t ever insist on walking a woman home.” She turned and walked over to get her jacket, catching sight of the smile that spread across his face.
    ****
    The night air was cool, but the hint of humidity from the day kept it from feeling chilly.
    “That.” Marienne pointed up. “Is why I’m going to the park tonight.”
    Daniel followed the line of her arm and glanced up toward the sky. It was an amazingly clear night, the stars twinkling, and the moon a perfect sliver overhead.
    “Wow.” He craned his neck back and turned in a slow circle as he walked out into the parking lot.
    “Exactly. And it looks even better from a swing. Come on.” She headed off toward the park. He followed, glancing up at the sky again.
    “So,” he said, “do all women think men are either total dicks or dicks with potential?”
    “I can’t speak for all women. Most of my closest friends have been guys.”
    “Why do you suppose that is?”
    “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m more comfortable with guys. I’m usually out of step with other women. Guys get my sense of humor. Besides, girls can be catty and mean.”
    “Point taken.” He held his arm out to keep her from tripping over a stray branch that had fallen on the darkened sidewalk.
    “Thanks.” She glanced up at him as she stepped over the branch. “I didn’t see that.”
    Daniel could see why Marienne would get along better with men. She wasn’t like most women. She wasn’t at all self-absorbed or judgmental. In fact, she seemed to be quite the opposite, much harder on herself than necessary. He found it fascinating, but Justine had found it odd. She’d even commented about it after their first meeting, saying that Marienne was ‘unusual and had a bizarre fashion sense.’ He wondered if that was the reaction most women had to her.
    “So,” he said, “these guys who you were close friends with, they were good to you?” He sensed that perhaps the answer might be no.
    “Sometimes…”
    “Ahhhh, and other times, let me guess, dicks. Hence the theory.”
    She laughed. “Hence the theory.”
    “Am I asking too many questions?” He glanced at her.
    “No.”
    “How about now?”
    “No.” She giggled.
    “Good, because I have more.”
    He turned to look at her as they continued to walk. Her head was down, looking out for more branches he guessed. Her left hand was shoved into her jacket pocket; the other carried her Coke can, which she sipped from occasionally. She seemed at ease and he was glad. He didn’t feel like going home to a quiet house. He was wide-awake and very much in the mood to talk. “Who was your first guy friend?”
    “Timmy Berkus. Kindergarten. When I was a kid, my guy friends were the ones who shared their Oreos with me and protected me from the mean girls on the playground.”
    “Ah, chivalry.”
    “Yes. A lost art.”
    “When did guys stop being chivalrous?”
    “Right after we moved back from Oxford.”
    Daniel smiled, still marveling at the coincidence. “What happened?”
    “Not much. That was the problem. I spent all four years of high school madly in love with a guy named Todd, who only thought of me as a friend.”
    “But you wanted more….”
    “Yes, and he didn’t. Or at least not until senior year, when I finally got a boyfriend.” She sighed.
    “That sigh sounded significant. He hurt you. I can hear it in your voice.”
    Marienne paused, letting out a breathy chuckle. “You’re right, he did. Todd got jealous, which seemed ridiculous since he was the one I was in love with. One day we were studying