"Put that down," he said. "I want to hear this story. It's getting interesting. I want to hear what your dark side is before I decide whether I should stay or leave."

"That's not funny." There was a touch of pain in her expression.

"Come on." David touched her arm lightly. He grinned. "Please. Go on. I love listening to you talk. I just hate hearing confessions."

Janet patted his hand. "Anyway, Jeff from such and such city-"

"Which city?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Let me go on with the story. You'll like it. I hated it at the time it happened, but I like telling it now."

"What happened?"

Janet paused. The color in her face deepened. "Anyway, Jeff-" she drew a deep breath. "He asked me out. Jeff. I told myself to stay away from him. I didn't give him an answer immediately. I told him I would have to think about it. Before deciding what to do, I walked by the wall in the gym that had all the sign-up sheets for the different activities. I stopped in front of it and tried to find his name. Suddenly it leapt out at me. Plain as day." They had abandoned the game now. David poured himself another cup of coffee. Janet continued:

"I went home that night and called his house. Just like in the movies. I thought the best way to find out if a man is married is to get his phone number and then call his house and hang up on his wife. So I called his house."

"What happened?"

"A woman answered." Janet's voice grew steadier. "A woman answered. And I hung up. She heard my voice and my heart leapt. 'He's married,' I thought. 'I knew it.'