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Show Moon -12 in the way of railroad stations then was all wood and brass and leather furniture. The blue-eyed officer was standing next to the desk, his cap in his hand. Mr. Henry, a paunchy fortyish man, who until now had hardly seemed to notice Anne, swept her into the room with his hand. "Allow me," he said. "Allow me to properly introduce First Lieutenant James Lewis Wright." He gestured expansively toward the officer, who bowed solemnly. "And Lt Wright, allow me to properly introduce Miss Anne Adams, my best reservation clerk and fine young lady born in Evanston." Anne could not stop herself from smiling. That someone would go to the trouble made her want to laugh like a child at an unexpected party. Lt. Wright stepped up to her and gravely shook her hand. "How do you do," he said. She studied him for a moment, no longer needing to avert her eyes. His face was long, his nose high-bridged, his jaw square and authoritarian. His pale eyes were squinting, as if she were some horizon he hoped to reach before nightfall. He looked rather like a man she'd seen in the movies, a soldier in the Light Infantry Brigade. She gave a little curtsy, "I do very well, thank you, and you?" "I do nicely. Will you honor me with dinner tonight? That is, after I meet your parents?" Tonight was her art lesson. But she could hardly refuse him now. "I can't tonight," she said, "But perhaps tomorrow." Mr. Henry pressed his hands together and beamed, clearly enjoying the success of his role in the little drama. And so Lt. Wright called for Anne at home, and took her to dinner. Such a simple thing can set into motion an entire lifetime, but we never know this while there's still a chance to make another choice. How I wish I'd been there to |