Chapter 1: Wednesday

At the corner of Broadway and Pearl there is a bronze sculpture of a pretty young woman in a flowing dress, sitting on a porch swing. She looks like she is waiting for her lover.

The Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado, is only four blocks long, but filled with benches, play spaces, trees. Tom's Tavern has been on Pearl Street for over fifty years. It smells strongly of old beer, but it has a friendly feel and lots of booths, well-partitioned from one another. Their burgers are wonderful; they sell no other food.

Ed Figs and Dana Adams stood talking at the bar, one Wednesday evening, with Rudy and Melanie von Dwingelo, then they all moved to the biggest booth, waiting for the waitress to come for their order. They asked for their favorite burgers, more beer. They had seen each other there before, started talking together. Tonight was their first dinner together. Ed let his keen grey eyes roam into Melanie's cleavage, aware of Rudy's glances at Dana's t-shirt, where nipples crowned her firm breasts. Fran Zigelski, an acquaintance of Dana's, came in and sat with them.