Chapter 2

October was hectic for Mark as he settled into his new life as an undergrad. He spent most of his time diving into his studies. By the end of the month, his bet with Dennis was all but forgotten. Right after their field trip in September, he had made it a point to smile and greet Kara in class, and she ignored him for a few days. But then he was passing her on the quad and said hi, and she hissed "Fuck off!" at him in return. Mark considered walking into Dennis's room and leaving $3 on the desk, but in the end he decided just to let the matter rest.

It was the first Friday in November, and Mark had finished his last class of the afternoon and was heading back to his dorm room. The sky was a dark gray and it felt as if they were about to get their first snowfall of the season. Up ahead, Mark noticed Kara sitting alone on a bench by the path. There was no one else around. She did not look up as he started to walk past, and then he suddenly realized that Kara looked miserable, flushed and sweaty, and that her body was shaking. Mark took off his backpack and sat down on the far side of the bench.

"Kara, you look ill. Do you need a doctor?"

Kara glanced up and looked at Mark, and for the first time he saw her eyes without scorn in them. She shook her head no, and turned away from him.

"Really Kara, you look very ill. Can I get you something? Some water perhaps?"

"No, really. I'm not ill. I just got... some bad news from home."

"Oh... Is there anything I can do to help?"

"There's nothing you can do. I just found out my mom died... I don't even have the money to get back for the funeral... Go away!"

Mark realized that the sweat he thought he saw were tears covering her cheeks. He unzipped his backpack and rooted around inside underneath his notebooks. After a moment of writing, he said, "Kara, I think I got your last name right, didn't I? Here, take this."

Kara took the slip. She realized it was a check for a thousand dollars. "What are you, rich or something?"

"Actually, I guess I am."

"Mark, I really want to get back to South Bend. What do I have to do?"

"Make a plane reservation. Take a bus to the airport. Wait! What am I saying? Let me drive you. I think Delta will fly you to South Bend through Atlanta. I'll help you set up the reservation. Is there anyone who can meet you in Indiana?"

"No one... Mark, that's not what I meant. What do I have to do for this?"

"Huh? The money? Nothing. Just keep it. It's a gift."

"Mark, I really want to get back to South Bend. I'll figure out how to pay you for this later." Kara suddenly got up and walked swiftly away. Mark dimly noticed she never said thank you, but his heart was so filled with compassion for her that he didn't mind.

It wasn't until the middle of the next week that Mark saw her again in class. She was very quiet, and tended to avoid eye contact with him. But Mark thought the scornful looks were gone, and he considered that a great improvement. On the third Friday in November, he said hello to her at the end of class, and just got a thoughtful nod back. Mark found this so encouraging he decided to press his luck.

"Kara, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

"Okay."

"Really!? Great! What do you like? Thai, Mexican, Italian... maybe a steakhouse?"

"Oh, anything you like. When do you want to go?"

"Can I pick you up at six?"

"Okay. I'll be ready."

"Wonderful! Thanks!"

"Yeah." Kara gave Mark a goodbye nod and walked off to her next class. Mark found it a bit difficult to concentrate in his own remaining class. His mind kept wondering if the Ice was finally beginning to melt.

Their date seemed to start out very well. Mark was very pleased to see that Kara wore a blouse and a beautiful wool skirt for their date, and he decided that he would never tell Dennis that Kara had very shapely legs indeed. Thinking to keep the cuisine on familiar ground for their first outing, Mark drove to a steakhouse on I-70 in nearby Denver. Kara was a bit quiet at first, but as the meal progressed Mark was delighted to see her trying to be sociable.

"Nice car you have Mark. So tell me, how did you get to be so rich?"

"Ah, I wish I could tell you it's due to my savvy business skills, but actually it's all family money. It goes back to my great grandfather. His name was William, but he went by the nickname of Iron Bill."

"Yeah?"

"He was into heavy construction. Some commercial buildings, but mostly road work, excavations, levies, stuff like that..."

"Ah huh..."

"He won a huge bid from a county in West Virginia, to do a major expansion of their road system. More than tripling the paved roads in the county, just at the end of the 1920's. Then the Depression hit."

"Ouch. That must have hurt."

"Actually, it turned out to be a windfall. Iron Bill completed most of the roadwork, but then the Depression came and the bottom dropped out of the county's tax base. The county went broke, so... My savvy ancestor foreclosed on them!"

"What!?"

"Yep. Sued them in state court. It was rough justice back then. At the end of the day, the judge said, "Iron Bill, the county is yours!" It was close to 200 square miles of county land, and my family owned it all!"

Kara clapped her hands in delight. "Mark, that's fantastic!"

Mark stared at Kara. For the moment, all of her anger was gone. Her eyes were full of laughter and animation, and it suddenly struck him how stunningly beautiful she was. Mark gulped and then hid his surprise by drinking a sip of water. "Yeah. They sold off bits and pieces of it through the years, to developers who then merged the plots with the surrounding counties. The big core of it though is over 100 square miles of the roughest piece of the Appalachians in West Virginia. After World War II, the State began negotiating for some permanent solution. They didn't like so much land being outside any county jurisdiction. Iron Bill was a really shrewd negotiator. He sold them a 60-year lease for $1 just to keep it as a State nature preserve, with rights for my family to trespass on it. It let the State save face and bury the issue."