Chapter 13

They drove into town and picked up the mail at the post office. A few of the items that made up her new ID was in the mailbox. They sat in the car and he explained each of the items and instructed her on which ones she had to carry and which could be kept at home.

They left to get something to eat as they had somehow forgotten breakfast. The rolled the windows down so that Thor wouldn't get over heated and headed for the restaurant. As they entered the restaurant Roy saw the publisher of the local newspaper and took Ann over to introduce her. The paper was struggling for survival. It was published on Wednesday and Saturday for the lower third of the state. It had a few national stories but most of the news was state and county news. The paper did serve as an outlet for legal notices and the classifieds were a good source of revenue.

Roy took her hand and walked over to the young man at the table, "Paul O'Neil how are you doing? I'd like you to meet Ann Miller. She's staying with me at the house."

Paul shook her hand and greeted the tow of them. He slid over so that they could sit with him. A waitress came over and took their order.

Paul looked at Ann, "What in the world is a beautiful woman like you doing with this ugly illiterate? Would you like to borrow my glasses to see what he really looks like?"

They all laughed and Roy asked how the paper was doing. Paul's face got serious and he waited until the waitress set their food down and left.

"I don't know how much longer that I can hold on. I have to pay for the news stories from the wire services and I just can't afford it. What we need in this end of the country is a good political scandal that we can milk for a month or two. While we're talking about political scandals, how are you and the Pentagon getting along?"

"I just quit this morning. I'm getting burned out with the military. They always want better weapons that will kill more people. It eats you alive after a while."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Well, Ann here has a degree in biology and she and I were thinking about doing some research and maybe designing products to make the world a little better place to live. Something like solar energy, transportation or anything that we feel will make a difference."

Paul leaned forward. Roy had caught his interest, "Where are you going to do this, here in town?"

"We thought that we might rent a building in town somewhere for a lab and see what happens."

Paul pulled out his notebook, "Can I use this? This would be a good story. Our town becomes a center for scientific study."

He questioned them for a while on their plans and took notes as they talked. After he had enough for a story, they talked about how the town was doing and Paul's vision for the paper if he could keep it alive.

Paul looked at the two of them strangely, "Forgive me for being personal, but I think that I see a little more than two friends here don't I?"

Ann was the first to speak, "I guess it shows how I feel. I do love him. I hope he feels the same way."

Paul beamed, "Good, I'm happy for you two. Great! You seem like a fine person, Ann. I don't know what you see in this guy, but to each his own. I wish you both much happiness. Look, sorry to leave such fine company, but I've got to get to work."

Paul gave Roy his business card and wrote his home phone number on it. He told them to call some Sunday and they'd all get together for a cookout. His cell phone started ringing and he left the restaurant talking to the caller.

They spent the rest of the day walking the town. Roy introduced her to several people and he was pleased that she handled herself like she had lived in this town all of her life. No one would ever be able to tell that she was from a different time.