"Don't you worry about a thing, Mr. Waters, she'll be fine."

"I know," he said, turning to Grace and opening his arms for a good-bye hug.

"You call me if you need anything, pumpkin."

"I will," Grace said. He kissed the top of her head, then turned to leave. She watched him walk down the hall with mixed emotions. It was hard to watch him go, yet at the same time exciting. She was finally on her own and it felt good. She picked up her suitcase and carried it to the bed. She unzipped the large case and began to organize her room, as her stomach reacted to the wonderful smells that were coming from the kitchen.

Carey smiled and put on her reading glasses when she spotted the yellow envelope in the stack of mail. Using her letter opener, she slit the envelope and opened the letter.

Dear Carey,

It seems like ages since I've talked to you and it's only been two weeks. I'm having a great time here. I can't believe all the homework and studying I have to do. I owe Instructor Gage a million bucks for teaching me how to study and take notes. Would you believe girls who graduated from high school are coming up and asking to borrow my notes?

Thought you'd want to know that I got A's on both of my tests and I'm sure I passed my English paper too. The computer classes are the most interesting and Mr. Reilly said I have an aptitude for it.

I don't miss Sapling Hill, but I miss you. Mrs. Somers is nice but it's not the same. The laptop is working great and I really love the encyclopedia. Of course, here I have my own room instead of a couch, but I'd take your couch over a room of my own any day.

I promised myself I wouldn't write you long, boring letters. I'm always thinking of you and hope we can see each other soon.

Love, Grace

Carey was rereading the letter when Instructor Gage stopped by. "Come on in," she said to the knock.

"You have a mentoring session now?"

"No," Carey said, setting the letter down. "Amazingly enough, I'm free."

"Nice smiley face," Gage said, tapping her fingernail on the yellow envelope.

"Letter from Grace," Carey said. "She thanks you for teaching her how to study."

"Does she? And what does she thank you for, Carey?"

"You know better, Sue," Carey said. "I'm just being supportive to her while she gets settled in."

"I've never seen you be this supportive before," Gage said.

"She has a good shot at making something of herself," Carey said.

"I'm just helping her out by being a pen pal. It's just her and her father now that she's cut her mother out of her life. She doesn't have any female role models."

"Grace, Grace, wait up."

She stopped on the concrete path and waited for the young man to catch up. "Hi, Tom."

"Hi," he answered, slightly out of breath from running. "I need to ask a favor."

"What?" Grace asked, thinking the man who sat next to her in Computer Programming needed help with their latest project.

"My parents' best friends are in town and want to take me and my girlfriend out," he said, wiping his hands on his pants. "I don't have a girlfriend."

"I uh...Tom, you're really a nice guy but—“

"I have a boyfriend, Grace," he said. "My family doesn't know. They think Stuart and I are just roommates."

"Oh."

"Grace, I don't know who else to ask," he said. "And well, you do carry a picture of a woman taped to the inside of your notebook." He shrugged his shoulders. "My gaydar goes off every time you walk into class."

"Gaydar?"

"Yeah, like radar," he said.

"Oh."

"Look, do you have a class now?"

"No," she said. "I was going to head to the Dungeon to get some coffee and look over my Trig homework."

"Let's go to the Coffee Bean," he said. "It's cleaner, quieter, and my treat."

"You don't have to do that," Grace said, knowing coffee there was three times or more the cost of the school's lunchroom.

"I may be gay but I'm still a gentleman," Tom said. "Please."

Grace hesitated, then nodded. "Sure, I've been wanting to try a cappuccino."

"Great." Tom smiled broadly.

"So," Tom said as he sat down at the small table. "I'm right about you, aren't I?”

Grace moved the plastic stirrer through the frothy drink. "Yeah," she said. "But she's not my girlfriend."

Tom smiled broadly. "But you want her to be, don't you?"

Grace nodded. "Very much. She thinks I'm too young for her."

"Her loss," Tom said. "So why don't you ever go to the Last Straw? A lot of baby dykes hang out there."

"Not interested," Grace said, tapping her notebook. "That's who I want."

"Well if you change your mind, Stuart and I would be happy to take you out to the juice bar," he said. "So, back to my question. Will you be my fake girlfriend and go with me? I'll return the favor if you ever need it."

Being able to say she was seeing someone would put an end to the stream of men who asked her out, and Grace found she could not come up with any good reason to say no. "Sure," she said. "But I don't have the clothes to go anywhere fancy," she warned.

"What you have on now is fine," Tom assured her. "We're going to the Lobster House so you'll end up with a bib anyway."

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Somers. This is Carey, is Grace around?"

"Oh, hello, dear. No, she has a date tonight."

"A date?"

"Yes, with a very nice young man. Tim or Tom or something like that."

"Oh," Carey said, her mind imagining different scenarios, all bad. "Did she say when she would get in?"

"No, but I imagine it will be late. She seemed pretty excited. I'll tell her you called."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Good-bye, dear."

Carey hung up the phone. "It's a school night, Grace. What are you doing out?" she said to the empty room. She picked up the phone again and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Sue, it's Carey."

"Didn't I just see you an hour ago at dinner duty? What's up?"

"Are you busy or do you feel like coming over and playing cards?"

"I could be tempted but it's going to cost you."

Carey smiled and walked to the refrigerator. "Let me guess, you haven't eaten yet."

"Well I'm staring at a microwave dinner that promises to be low on fat and high on taste but I could be tempted."

"How does leftover stuffed peppers and beer sound?"

"Sounds like a cribbage game is about to happen."

"Thanks a lot, Grace," Tom said as he walked her to the door. "I owe you big time."

"It was fun," she said. "The lobster was great."

"I didn't know you never had it before," he said, smiling broadly.

"You should have seen the look on your face when they brought them out."

"I didn't know they came in their shells," Grace said, sharing the smile. "I'm glad the restaurant gives bibs."

"It's standard with lobster," Tom said. "Listen, why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night? Stuart's an excellent cook and I know he'd just love to meet you."

"Should I bring something?"

"Just yourself," he said. "Stuart always complains I never bring my friends home to meet him so this will be great. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Good night, Tom."

"Night, Grace, thanks again. It really means a lot to me."

Entering the house, she was not surprised to see Mrs. Somers waiting for her. "Hi."

"Hello, dear," the older woman said, scooping up the cards she was playing solitaire with. "How was your date?"

"It was fun," she said, removing her jacket and hanging it on the hook near the door. "I had lobster."

"Messy," the landlady said. "I'm from Maine originally, don't you know, and there is nothing to compare to a fresh lobstah. Oh, your friend called twice."

"Carey?"

Mrs. Somers nodded. "Seemed a bit upset."

Grace was instantly concerned. "I'd better call her."

"You can use the phone in my room if you want some privacy."

"Thanks."

"What bug is up your ass tonight?" Gage asked. "You invite me over to play cards and all you're doing is sitting there shuffling them."

"Grace is out on a date," Carey said, passing the deck to her. "It's a school night, Sue. What's she doing out?"

"She is eighteen now," Gage said. "Going out on dates is part of college life."

"I called at nine and she wasn't home yet."

"Should we call the state police?"

"It's not funny, Sue."

"You're jealous."

"I am not," Carey protested. "I'm just...concerned. How much does she know about this guy?"

"Deny all you want," Gage said. "You're jealous because she's out having a good time instead of staying home and pining over you. Give her a break, Carey."

"She's over that," Carey said. "Just a phase she was going through because we were so close."

"And you believe that?" Gage shook her head. "I don't think so."

"She's too young for me and I'm too old for her. She'll realize that sooner or later," Carey said, the very thought paining her. "Looks like she realized it now."

"Those brown eyes are definitely turning green," Gage said.

"I'm not—“ Carey said as the phone rang. "That's her." She moved quickly, catching it before the end of the second ring. "Grace?"

"Hi. Mrs. Somers said you called twice. Is everything okay?"

"Are you just now getting home?"

"Yes, but my first class tomorrow isn't until nine."

"What were you doing out until after ten?" Carey asked, ignoring the smug look on Gage's face.

"Well, we went out to dinner but then Mr. Crenshaw wanted to go out for dessert."

"Who is Mr. Crenshaw?"

"Oh, he and his wife are friends of Tom's parents."

"And who is Tom? The guy you went out with?"

"Yes. He sits next to me in programming class. Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? What should be wrong? You're supposed to be studying, not out gallivanting around with God knows who."

"What are you upset about? Nothing happened."

"Only because you're lucky. Were you alone with him?"

"He picked me up and we met the Crenshaws at the restaurant. After the ice cream place they went back to their hotel and he drove me home. Nothing happened and he was the perfect gentleman. I didn't do anything wrong."

"You've never mentioned him before," Carey said. "How serious is this?"

"Oh, Carey, you sound like an overprotective father," Gage said from the kitchen.

"It's not serious. He needed a date for dinner with his folks' friends. That's all."

"So you're not going out with him again, right?"

"I'm going over to his apartment for dinner tomorrow." There was a pause. "He wants me to meet his boyfriend Stuart."

"Boyfriend? He has a boyfriend?" Carey glared at Gage as the diminutive woman began laughing hysterically. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"First, I didn't think it was important. Second, I didn't know I had to get approval from you to go out with someone, and third, you know how I feel." Carey heard the hurt in Grace's voice and felt guilty about upsetting her. "I'm not looking for anyone and I'm sorry if you were worried."

"I'm sorry, Grace," Carey said. "It's just that I called and she said you were out on a date and..." She leaned her forehead against the wall. "And I jumped to conclusions."

"It's nice to know you care."

"You know I care," Carey said. "I worry about you."

"I'm fine. Now, what are you doing up so late?"

"I'm um…Sue needed help grading essays," she said, earning a snort from Gage.

"Well, I won't keep you. When Mrs. Somers said you called twice I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Everything's fine, Grace. I'm glad you had fun tonight."

"I did. I'll write you all about it."

"Please do. I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay, good night, Carey."

"Night." Carey hung up the phone. "Don't say it," she warned.

"Say what?" Gage asked. "That you're acting like a jealous lover instead of a mentor?"

"He's gay. The guy she went out with. She was just covering for him with his parents' friends," Carey said. "She's not interested in him and he's got a lover."

"And you drove yourself nuts all evening for nothing," Gage said. "I did not," Carey said. "She's only eighteen, Sue."

"Legal in every state."

"That's not the point," she said. "I don't date teenagers."