“Tell us the truth, lady. Where is Hobson?”

The lady looked up at the two guys staring at her. There she was, Heather Maturin, history professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, and she had no idea who the hell ‘Hobson’ was.

“Hobson? I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Hobson…” The man looked at a sheet of paper, “Gary Hobson. Owns the bar McGinty's.”

Heather shook her head, “I don’t know a Gary Hobson.”

The taller man stepped forward and hit her. “Liar.”

The other guy jumped in, “Yeah, we saw you with him the other day, walking along Michigan Avenue. You were talking to him!”

Heather’s mind raced… What had she been doing along Michigan Avenue? When had she been on Michigan anyway? Then she remembered. “Oh, I wasn’t really talking to him; I was working on dialogue for my next novel. I was mumbling and looking randomly at people… I tend to do that where ever I am when I’m struck with an idea.”

The two men looked at each other, worried. They had kidnapped this lady to get to Hobson, but she didn’t know him… They could tell they were going to be in a lot of trouble, unless…

The taller one took out his pocket knife. “I’m sorry, then, but we’re going to have to…” Suddenly the fire alarm sounded, loud and obnoxious.

“What’s that?” The shorter one asked.

The taller one put away the knife and swore. “That’s the fire alarm, dummy. We’d better get out of here.” The two ran out of the room, leaving Heather tied to the chair.

“Hey, you two can’t just leave me here! Hey!” Heather yelled, “Help! Somebody help me!”

As Heather was about to yell again, the door crashed open and a guy rushed in. He appeared to be looking for something. He seemed to find it in Heather.

“Hold on, let me get you out of here.” The guy stuffed a newspaper into the back pocket of his pants and moved to untie Heather. When she was free, he took her hand and pulled her out of the building.

Outside, it was night, and it was cold. Heather stood there, staring at her rescuer. He took off his coat and put it around her shoulders.

“Thank you for saving me!”

“There was no fire. I pulled the alarm.”

“Well, that guy had a knife… he could have, well… if you hadn’t pulled the alarm. But, how did you… Never mind, I’m not going to ask.”

Gary looked at Heather, surprised. That had to be the first time the person he saved didn’t ask how he had done it or had known.

“I’d like to make it up to you somehow, Mr.…”

“Hobson, Gary Hobson, and you don’t have to do anything.”

Heather took a step back. “You’re Gary Hobson? Those guys… they kidnapped me because they thought I knew you!”

“What?”

“Yeah, they asked me where Gary Hobson was… Naturally I didn’t know… so they were going to get rid of me, and then the fire alarm went off…” Heather looked at Gary, who had taken out the paper from his back pocket.

“I’ve got to go…” Gary mumbled and ran off.

“What… Wait!” Heather ran after him. She still had his coat.

Gary was fast, and Heather couldn’t keep up completely, so by the time she caught up to him, all she saw was a frightened mother taking her child from Gary and thanking him profusely.

“Gary Hobson!” Heather called out.

He turned; surprised someone was calling him by his full name around here, but then recognized Heather. He walked across the street to her. “What are you doing here?”

“I uh… wanted to return your coat.” Heather took it off and held it out.

“Thank you.” Gary took it, but didn’t move his eyes from Heather’s face. “You look cold, would you like to come in and get warm?” He nodded towards a building with the sign ‘McGinty’s’.

“Sure, thank you.” Heather followed Gary in, taking in the wonderful smell of the bar.

Gary greeted two people seated at a table and sat down with them. Heather followed, sitting across from Gary and next to a guy. Gary introduced them.

“Heather, these are my friends, Chuck and Marissa.”

“Pleased to meet you both.”

“So, Heather, what do you do for a living?” Chuck asked.

“Me? I’m a professor at the University of Illinois here.”

“Too smart for your taste, Chuck.” Marissa said with a smile.

“What do you mean? I’m not stupid,” he turned to Heather, “I’m not stupid.”

“No, I can see you’re not.”

“Polite too… Gary, this is a good one. How did you two meet?”

Gary just shook his head. His friends had been on him for awhile to get a life and to meet someone. They thought he and Heather… well, they had only met about an hour ago.

“We met just today. He uh… surprised a couple of guys that were… robbing me.” Heather didn’t know if Gary’s friends knew about his heroism ability, so kept the story clean.

“That’s all? Usually he’s jumping in front of trains to save people, or jumping off of overpasses to stop a truck, or…”

“Ok, that’s enough Chuck.” Gary interrupted.

“Really?” Maybe Gary’s friends knew more than she did. She looked at Gary with new respect.

“It’s no big deal.” Gary said under Heather’s gaze. “It’s sort of being in the right place at the right time type thing.”

“Right.” Heather didn’t say anymore, and the conversation moved to other topics. Heather found herself really enjoying Gary’s company, and the company of his friends.

“I moved here from Massachusetts about a month ago, but I’m originally from Colorado.”

“You’ve been all over the place.” Gary commented.

“Well, I was born in Colorado and did my undergrad work there. I went to Massachusetts to get my masters and doctorate, and I was offered a really good job here I couldn’t pass up.” Heather ducked her head. “Please, let me know if I’m talking too much…”

“No, this is very interesting…” Chuck tried to slip his arm around Heather but she pushed it away. Gary and Marissa smiled.

“Excuse me. I have to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back… and that’s a threat, not a promise.” Heather left the table while everyone was laughing.

“Well, Gar, she’s a good one.” Chuck said. “She’s not my type, but you…”

Gary shook his head. “No way, she’d never…” Chuck looked at him as if he knew something, “We just met today!”

“So ask her out on a date.” Chuck prodded.

“Yeah, Gary, what do you have to lose?” Marissa joined the prodding.

“All right, I will, but if she’s says no… I told you so.” Gary sighed. Perhaps it would be good to date again… he had been shying away from all that after his experiences with the other women the paper had brought into his life… and taken away. Maybe he wasn’t ready to try again…

While he was thinking the last part, Heather came back. Chuck and Marissa stood up, both saying they had to get home and take care of something. Gary tried to get them to stay, but they both were insistent.

“I hope it was nothing I said.” Heather commented as she sat back down across from Gary.

“What? Oh, no, it wasn’t you. They do that sometimes.” Like leaving me high and dry Gary added in his mind.

“Is there something wrong?” Heather looked so concerned, Gary felt bad.

“No, nothing is wrong… Heather, I ah… Well, this is really sudden but… would you like to have dinner with me?”

Heather looked at Gary, this handsome dark-haired man, who was asking her out. She was so surprised, that she didn’t answer right away.

“I’m sorry, that was really rude of me. I mean, we just met, and for all I know you could be married…”

“I’m not married,” Heather interrupted, “and I’m not seeing anyone. I was just… so shocked. To be honest with you, I haven’t that many… dates, and I was just so shocked you were asking me. Usually I do the asking, and the answer is no… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be burdening you with my problems… sorry.”

Gary shook his head, “Dinner then?”

Heather looked into Gary’s brown eyes. “I’d love to.”

---

At dinner the next night, Heather waited for Gary for two hours, and then gave up and left. How could have she’d been so stupid? Gary’s friends probably put him up to it, asking her out and then standing her up. They were probably back at that bar, laughing at her right now.

That bar! Heather had a thought. She veered off of the street she was walking down and headed for McGinty’s. She’d at least find one of the three there, if not all of them, and she could confront them. What they had done to her was so base and cruel, and what made it worse is that they were really good actors. Heather had really thought they were nice people, especially Gary himself. Chicago was a mean city.

At McGinty’s, Heather stormed in and spotted Chuck right away.

“How dare you, you and that Gary character! Have you no human compassion? And you’re adults too!” Heather spat at Chuck.

“What are you taking about? Where’s Gary? Weren’t you supposed to meet?”

Heather faltered. Had she been wrong? “You mean, you were for real?”

“Of course we’re for real. Where is Gary?”

“He never showed up for dinner, and I thought that… well, that you had set me up. It wouldn’t have been the first time.” Heather was on the verge of tears from dredging up old memories and from the shame she felt of thinking these people capable of what she had accused them of.

“Gary would never… We’ve been friends for a long time. He’s a good guy. If he didn’t show, he has a really good reason.”

“I know he does, I see that now. Please don’t tell him what I thought, all right?”

“All right, but you’re going to have some explaining to do.” Chuck pointed and Heather turned around.

“Gary! Hi.”

“Heather, I am so sorry I wasn’t able to make it. I can’t tell you why, but I hope you’ll forgive me. Can I have another chance?” Gary was worried, he was making the same mistakes again, and he would never forget what had happened the last times he had missed dates…

Are you kidding? Heather thought. You’re probably the only guy in Chicago that’ll go out with me. Except for maybe Chuck, but he’s not really my type. “Yes, of course. I trust that what you were doing was important.”

“Thank you. It was.” Gary led Heather to a table and sat her down and he sat next to her. Chuck followed, sitting across from them.

“At least we can have our date now?” Heather glanced at Chuck.

“Yes.” Gary turned to Chuck. “Could you leave?”

“What?” Chuck looked from Gary to Heather and back. “All right, all right, I’ll go find Marissa.” Chuck left.

Heather and Gary talked until about eleven or so, when Gary said he had to get up early the next morning.

“Work?”

“Yeh, something like that.” Gary apologized and offered to take Heather home.

“Thanks, but I don’t live far from here. I’ll be all right.” Heather left, and they both thought about what they had gotten themselves into. What would become of it?

---

A few days later, Heather was walking towards the University when she spotted someone running towards her. She moved out of the way, and as he passed by she recognized Gary. She ran after him, not knowing really why.

When she caught up with him, she saw him pulling a crane operator from the crane’s cab. Seconds later, a huge concrete beam came crashing down into the crane. If Gary hadn’t pulled that man from there, he would have been killed for sure.

“Gary!” Heather called out after the excitement had died down and the guy had left.

“Heather! How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to see that you are incredible! How did you… no, I said I wouldn’t ask and I won’t. It’s none of my business. You were incredible!”

“I was in the right place…”

“At the right time, I know. You saved his life.”

“Well…” Gary was looking at a paper (again). “I’ve got to go.” Gary took off again, and Heather followed. She wasn’t really stalking Gary, she was just curious.

She followed him for quite a ways, and fell far behind as a result. When she caught up to him, she only got to see the aftermath of Gary’s exploit. He was holding a small baby, yelling up at an open window.

“Hello? Is someone up there in the apartment with the open window?”

A lady, hair frazzled with flour all over her face, looked out. “What the… You have my baby!”

“Yes, ma’m. She fell, and I had to catch her.”

“Oh, thank God!” The lady disappeared and reappeared at the door. She rushed up to Gary and took the baby. “Thank you so much!”

“Well, next time, keep the window closed. A baby is a thing to hold onto for a long time.” Gary smiled and left.

Heather didn’t try to follow Gary again. She felt odd, spying on him. How did he do it? Saving her, that child, the construction worker, and now the baby… And there was always that newspaper… What was Gary involved in?

---

Gary left McGinty’s, headed for the restaurant where he was supposed to meet Heather for dinner. He hadn’t made a date in a week, and felt really bad. He knew he was lucky Heather was putting up with him and his paper, though she didn’t know there was a paper involved. He took one last glance at the paper, praying not to see anything that needed fixing. Unfortunately, he did.

“You made it.” Heather said, pleased.

Gary didn’t look at her. “Everyone get out! There’s going to be an explosion!” Gary shouted. He weaved his way to the back of the restaurant. Heather stood up; having a feeling she ought to trust Gary that he knew what he was talking about.

“Everyone stay calm; please file out the doors in an orderly manner.” Heather guided people to the doors and got the room cleared.

Meanwhile, Gary was in the back, evacuating people and trying to put out the fire. Seeing that the years-old extinguisher wasn’t going to work, he pushed out the last couple of people from the kitchen. It was then he spotted Heather.

“Heather! We’ve got to get out of here!” Gary took her hand and ran with her out just before the whole place was engulfed with fire and smoke.

“What were you doing in there?” Gary asked when they were safe.

“We had a date here, remember?”

“I know, but when I say get out, I mean get out.”

“Well, I was worried about you… I wanted to make sure you got out safely.”

“You were that concerned?”

“Yes, I was.”

---

“And she helped you? You taking this as a good sign, aren’t you?” Gary had told Marissa about what had happened in the restaurant.

“Yeah. Maybe she could help you with that thing.” Chuck added.

“Well, I wouldn’t have her running around the city. This is my responsibility.”

“When’s your next date?”

“Tonight.”

That night, Gary met Heather at the skating rink and they ice skated for awhile. Then Gary invited her back to his place.

“I live above McGinty’s.”

“I thought so, but I wasn’t sure. You own it?”

“Yes, but Marissa really runs it.”

“So that’s not your job?”

“Not really.”

“Just thought I’d ask.” Heather shrugged.

“So, do you want to come?”

“Yes.”

Back at McGinty’s, Gary lead Heather upstairs and showed her where he lived.

“Oh, wow.” Heather said when she walked in. It was a very nice loft. “This place is so nice, Gary! I love the brick walls and the décor… and just look at those windows! They’re huge! I bet you get a lot of sunlight in here.”

“I do.”

Heather sat down on the couch and Gary got them some sodas.

“Would you like to watch a movie?” Gary asked as he sat beside her.

“Sure. What do you have?” Heather stood up to go look at his movie collection. “Oooh, I love this one!” She picked out one and handed it to Gary, who put in the DVD and sat back down.

“I thought you would. It seems like your type of movie.”

“It’s is.”

“It’s my kind of movie too.” Gary smiled and kissed Heather. It was their first kiss.

“It is.” Heather whispered after the kiss.

“Things aren’t moving too… fast, are they?” Gary kept in mind the painter whom he had been involved with.

“No, not yet. I liked… the kiss, and I trust you. This is a really good movie.” The movie started, averting their attention from a possibly awkward moment.

After the movie, it was still sort of early, so Heather stuck around.

“So you’re from Indiana? I did a research project on a Civil War unit from Indiana in college.”

“Oh? Have you even been there?”

“Not yet. I want to have been to every state in the U.S. I’m getting pretty close. Indiana is one of about seven states I haven’t been to yet.”

“I’ll have to take you sometime.”

“I’d like that. Have you been to Colorado?”

“No.”

“Well, then there’s another trip we’ll have to take.”

“Yeah. Do you parents live in Colorado?”

“My dad does. My mom lives in Toronto, Ontario with my step-dad.”

“Your parents are divorced?”

“Yes. Have been for years… ever since I was in high school. My dad was married again afterwards, but she hated the states and moved back to Peru after about five years.”

“Those are some scattered relatives.”

“Yeah, I know. Crazy, isn’t it?”

“At least you’re somewhat in-between your mom and dad.”

“Right, I am. We all get together in Wisconsin for Christmas. Both sets of my grandparents live there.”

“That’s got to be nice.”

“It is. Do your parents live in Indiana?”

“They do.”

“Do you get to see them much?”

“Well, I don’t visit them a lot, but they’ve been know to show up here unannounced.”

“That’s annoying, isn’t it? My mom did that to me once, while I was in Massachusetts.”

Gary thought that perhaps Heather’s situation was a bit different. She didn’t have a huge secret that she had to keep from her parents like she got tomorrow’s newspaper today. Even after his parents had found out, it wasn’t easy having them visit. They always tried to make him feel better, or they rearranged his apartment, trying to get him to go out on dates…

“Is something wrong Gary?”

“No, nothing. It’s getting pretty late, would you like for me to walk you home?”

“No, I think I’m all right…” Heather got up and grabbed her coat. “You know, you’re a real gentleman.”

Gary straightened up from cleaning the coffee table. “What?”

“You didn’t… well, take advantage of the situation.”

“No, no I didn’t. I never would.”

“I know. You are a very sweet guy, Gary. I love you.”

Gary smiled and dropped what was in his hands to hug Heather. “I love you too.” He pulled away, and they kissed.

“Thanks for a wonderful night, Gary.”

“You’re welcome, Heather.”

“You really do have, what Chuck said: a Boy Scout demeanor.”

“Yeah, well…” Gary didn’t know if she was making fun of him or not.

“I like it. Don’t change.” Heather hugged him again and left.

---

“You know what else I like? Your hat.”

“My hat?”

“Yeah, your blue hat. I have always had a thing for hats, but then I used it as a metaphor for a guy I liked at the time, and it kind of grew from there. I like your hat, Gary.”

“My hat…”

“It goes so well with your brown coat. And I like your name. I’ll have to thank your parents for naming you Gary.”

“Ok…”

“You see, as a writer I have to come up with names for my characters, and usually I have a difficult time coming up with good ones. There are certain names I really like. For example, Alexander is a good one, and so is Andrew, Nathan, Horatio… All name I have used in my novels. I never used Gary, but it’s another really good one.”

“Well, thank you… I think.”

“It is a compliment, Gary.”

Gary nodded, and then pulled out the newspaper. He glanced at it, and closed his eyes as if in pain.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to go…” Gary got up and left.

“But Gary, where are you…?” Heather trailed off. Gary was long gone.

Frustrated, but struggling to be understanding, Heather grabbed the money Gary had left on the table and paid for their meal. He had left way too much, so Heather pocketed the rest, vowing to give it back to Gary the next time she saw him.

Outside, Heather looked around, not sure what to do. She had freed up her whole afternoon to be with Gary, and now she had nothing really to do. Shrugging, she headed up the street without a destination in mind. She sometimes wandered around without a destination to see where fate would take her. This time, fate took her right where she needed to be.

As she rounded a corner, she saw the two guys that had kidnapped her standing in an alley. They had someone pinned to the wall, and the tall one had his knife out.

“You stopped us from making a lot of money, buddy. We all have to pay for our mistakes.”

Heather stopped to listen, perhaps to hear who they had pinned up against the wall. Something told her she needed to know.

“Listen, all we’re going to do is take you somewhere and take care of ya. It won’t take long and it’ll all be over.” The tall one said, his knife glinting in the light. He grabbed one arm and the short one grabbed the other. From the back, the guy might have been indiscernible to anyone else, but Heather knew that profile all to well.

They’ve got Gary! Heather tried not to panic. What could she do to help Gary like he had helped her? As she thought, she followed the three of them until they went into a building. It was the same one where they had taken her… and now Heather had an idea.

She waited about a minute and then snuck into the building. She glanced around, trying to find what she was looking for… ah, there it was.

Inside the little room Gary recognized, the two men forced him into the chair.

“One last time, Hobson. How did you do it?” The tall man was about to take the knife to Gary’s throat when the fire alarm went off. The tall one swore and retracted his knife. “Not again!” He grabbed Gary’s arm and pulled him out of the room.

So, Heather’s plan had gone a little awry. She saw that as the three men came into the hallway where she was standing. She quickly hid around a corner and almost tripped over a cinder block lying on the floor. Inspired, she picked it up and waited.

As the tall one rounded the corner, Heather raised the cinder block up and hit him on the head. With one arm free, Gary was able to knock down the short man.

“Heather! What are you… How did you…” Gary smiled. “I’m not going to ask. The fire alarm was clever.”

“Well, I learn from the best.” Heather poked the tall man with her shoe. “I didn’t kill him, did I?”

Gary looked at him. “I don’t think so… He’ll have a really bad headache, though.”

“Good. Serves him right for tying to take my boyfriend. I finally meet a really nice guy and I’ll be damned if this guy’s going to take him away from me.”

Glad to feel wanted and to know he wasn’t the only one paranoid about losing the person he loved, Gary hugged Heather and thanked whoever was at work for a person like her.

“We should call someone before they wake up.” Heather mumbled into Gary’s coat.

“Taken care of.” Gary pulled out his cell phone and called the police. When he was finished, he put the phone away. “I recognize these two. They nearly killed a woman while trying to rob a bank, but I was in the right…”

“Place at the right time.” Heather laughed.

“Yeah. But they had gotten away… They weren’t too happy with me for foiling their plans…” Gary sighed. “Let’s get out of here.” Heather nodded and followed him out.

“Heather, I’m sorry I got you involved,” Gary said as they walked away.

“Well, when I saw you in the alley with them, I recognized all three of you. What was I supposed to do, let them kill you? You can’t get away from me that easy.” Heather smiled and Gary laughed.

“I’m glad you were there…”

“Yeah. Now we’re even.”

“What?”

“You saved my life; I saved yours…”

“I hope this doesn’t mean we’re breaking up…”

“Nah… you’re suck with me for awhile.”

---

“He’s asleep.” Heather looked at Gary, who was sprawled on the couch. “Must have been a rough day at work. I guess that means our date is off for tonight… I suspect he really needs the sleep.” Heather kissed him on the forehead. “Are you doing anything Chuck?”

“Nope. Why?”

“Well, as Gary’s girlfriend, I thought it’d be good to get to know his friends so I can be friends with them too. I know you’re Gary’s best friend.” Heather pulled Chuck out of the room and down into the restaurant. “In fact, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yeah?”

“Um, it’s not that I don’t like Gary or I don’t like being with him, but I’m worried about him… He doesn’t smile much, does he?”

“I’m always telling him he’s too serious…”

“I think it’s more than that… I fear he’s too depressed or something.”

“I think I see what you’re getting at.”

“Maybe he hates his job.”

“Yeh, well, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“I still don’t know what he does… but I want him to tell me, whenever he’s ready.”

Gary came down the stairs and interrupted the conversation. He had caught the last part but didn’t let on.

“Heather… I’m sorry I fell asleep… It’s been a long day.”

“I figured that, and you’re forgiven.”

“I’ll consider that a good thing, based off the fact that you had to spend the time with Chuck.”

“Ha ha, Gar. Do you have that out of your system now?”

“Yeah, somewhat.”

“Well, good. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have a bar to run.”

“You don’t run the bar…” Gary tried to remind his friend that he no longer held an interest in the bar but Chuck didn’t hear him.

And then Gary was distracted by Heather’s laughter. After a moment Gary joined her.

“Oh, Gary, I am so glad to see you laughing! You know, I was getting worried about you. You need to smiled more, and laugh too.”

“I do? Well, I guess I haven’t noticed.”

“Too busy with work to have fun.” Heather teased.

“Something like that.”

“Well, now that you’re finished with work… you are finished for the day, aren’t you?”

Gary recalled the paper. He was finished. “Yes.”

“Good. Now we can have fun, together.” Heather pulled Gary out into the bar to find Chuck and Marissa. The four of them spent the rest of the night together, laughing, joking, and playing pool. Heather and Gary were quite a team.

---

“I’m going to tell her about the paper tonight.” Gary told Chuck and Marissa a couple of nights later.

He was worried, he had tried telling the other women he had been interested in, but most hadn’t believed him. There was one time she had found her old love and had left him.

“Good.” Marissa meant it.

“You know my record with telling the women I love about the paper. I feel like I’m throwing away our relationship.”

“Maybe this time will be different.”

“I hope so. I really feel she is the one.”

“Well, then tell her. She has a right to know now.”

“She does, now that she’s been involved with it three times like that… I hope she believes me.”

“She will. I have a feeling.”

“Thank you.”

---

“Heather, I have something to tell you. It’s hard for me to say, so please don’t interrupt me.”

Heather got nervous… Was he going to break up with her?

“You never asked me how I did it, but now I’m going to tell you. I get tomorrow’s paper today.”

Heather stared. Is he kidding? No, he’s not moving… “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Really… That’s how you saved all those people? How you saved me?”

“Yes.”

“You knew… you know… the future? This is incredible!”

“You believe me?”

“Believe you? I think I know you, Gary, and you wouldn’t lie.”

“Thank you for trusting me. It comes with a cat…”

“A cat? Oh… I love cats!” Heather was excited.

Gary did a double take. “You… You do?”

“Yeah. I had four cats for the longest time…”

“Well, he’s not really my cat… he just comes with the paper.”

“Of course. May I see it?”

She is talking about the paper, not the cat. Gary shrugged and pulled out the paper. It was bedraggled from running around the city that day, but the date was clear.

Heather took it with shaking hands. She looked at the date and gasped. So it was true, and here was the proof.

“Do you still want to see me?”

Heather put down the paper. “Are you kidding? You go around the city every day, saving people? Changing lives? This just increases my respect for you, Gary.”

“Thank you. I’m so relived this doesn’t change things…”

“And you’ve never used it to… bet on anything?”

“I did a little at first… but now it’s no personal gain, just saving people and changing lives.”

“The more I know about you, the more I love you, Gary!” Heather was so glad that Gary, with this incredible gift, was still honest.

“Of course, I have personally gained from it unintentionally. I mean, I met you.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.” They kissed.

“And I’ve saved my friends a couple of times too.”

“You save them like you would anyone else, right? That’s not really personal gain.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“So this is why you missed dates and couldn’t tell me what you did for a living. It’s an important secret, and I can see why you kept it.”

“Until the right moment. Heather, I think that you and I… we could really make a life of this… if you’d want to.”

“Are you proposing?”

“Yes. Do you accept?”

“I do.”

“You’ll be saying that again soon, I think.”

---

“She’s moving in with you?” Chuck asked Gary the next morning. Gary had been up at 6:30, as always, and had been out to prevent someone from falling off a bridge.

“Yes. I asked her and she accepted. If things work out… well, I proposed to her too.”

“Well, congratulations, Gar. I’m happy to see you finally have a life.”

“Yes, and she knows about the paper.”

“Is she going to help you with that?”

“I don’t know… I didn’t want to ask her yet.”

“Ask me what?” Heather came up behind them.

Chuck laughed and left.

“Ah, I was going to ask you if you… if you wanted to help me with the newspaper.”

“You’d trust me enough to help you?”

“Yes.”

“But what if I screwed up or something?”

“You do your best, like I do. I hate to say this, but I haven’t saved everyone I’ve seen in the newspaper.”

“Oh, I’m sorry…”

“We try our best to do what we can to help, and that is enough.”

“I don’t know… you seem to be doing a good enough job of it.”

“Well, I suppose I am, but I asked because I didn’t want you to think that I was… leaving you out.”

Heather shook her head and hugged Gary. “You are always so thoughtful, Gary. Thank you for the thought, but I’ll leave you to the newspaper. It is yours in the first place anyway.”

“You don’t want to...” Gary knew Heather refused because she had morals, and not because she didn’t care. She had a point, too. Two people would help, but it would be hard to coordinate anything and still be effective. Gary knew two people on the paper had never worked before…

“I do care and I would like to help, but it might be overkill, don’t you think? I mean, how long have you been getting the paper?”

“About seven years.”

“Wow. Anyway, in all that time, has the paper ever indicated that you needed help?”

“Yes, it has, but it has always provided the help for me.”

“You see? If I was meant to help, the paper will have to show us. I will not mess with something that isn’t supposed to be. Besides, I think the paper knows what it’s doing. It did bring us together, after all.”

“It did.” Gary and Heather kissed, happy that the paper had brought them together.

---

“Have you moved in completely?”

Heather glanced at Gary. “Yes, I have. We had a hard time finding space for all my books, but Gary and I have made some compromises.”

“Good.” Chuck flopped down on the couch.

“He really knows how to make himself at home, doesn’t he?” Heather marveled to Gary, who laughed.

“He does. You should have seen him when I lived in the hotel.”

“The hotel?”

Gary hadn’t elaborated on his past much, so he did so now. He told Heather about his job as a stock broker and how he had quit. He mentioned his ex-wife. He told of living in the Blackstone Hotel, about Lucius Snow, and anything from the past seven years that he could remember. He did leave out his love interests, however, and Chuck didn’t say anything.

Gary told Heather about them later, after Chuck had left. She wasn’t upset, and even cried a little after he told her about the painter finding her old love.

“How tragic. Well, I promise you, Gary, that I have no old loves that might come back into my life. And I believe you about the paper, so you don’t have to worry about that. In fact, I don’t want to sound desperate or anything, but I have had so few love interests in my life that I can honestly swear to you that I will never leave you.”

“Good, because I will love you forever, Heather Maturin.” They kissed, and then climbed into bed together and snuggled close.