Free Old-Fashioned Values by Emily Tilton Page B

because she would never feel that way.”
    Now Sally, her voice demonstrating that John had given her precisely the kind of confidence he had wanted to give her, said, “I think that’s exactly right. I mean, I don’t think Cassandra can ever really get it. But I kind of think that maybe you do get it, Rachel.”
    “Is that why you wanted to meet me?” John asked softly, for a moment pretending that Mark and Sally weren’t even there.
    “Yes,” Rachel whispered.
    “Would you like to try it?” John asked.
    “Maybe?”
    John held her eyes with his for a long moment, smiling. Then he glanced over at Sally. Sally had her mouth open a little bit, as if she couldn’t believe what her roommate was saying.
    “Why don’t you and I talk about this privately sometime soon?” John said, turning his attention back to Rachel, who still had her eyes fixed on his face.
    “Today?” she asked.
    John laughed. “Well, I’m not doing much this afternoon. We could continue this conversation after Mark and Sally take off.”
    “Okay,” Rachel said.
    “Rachel!” Sally said.
    “What?” Rachel asked, finally breaking her stare at John to turn to Sally.
    “Sally,” Mark said, with a warning note in his voice.
    Now Sally turned back to look at him.
    Mark said, “John is a very good friend of mine. I think he is probably the most trustworthy person I’ve ever met.”
    “But Mark…”
    “I hope you’re not suggesting that Rachel wouldn’t be safe with him, because that would be very disrespectful, wouldn’t it?”
    “Yes, sir.” Sally sat looking down at her latte.
    John saw a very puzzled, but also very curious look pass across Rachel’s face. He doubted that she had known previously that Sally called Mark ‘sir.’ He could also see that a thrill of arousal had gone through her when she heard it.
    “I’m sorry, John,” Sally said.
    “That’s quite alright,” John replied. “You’re just looking out for your friend. So let me assure you that I would never consider doing anything that we might call practical with Rachel today. After she and I talk, she’ll need to do some thinking. And I hope you’ll be there for her to discuss the things I ask her to think about.”
    “Of course,” Sally said, a note of relief in her voice.
    “See?” Mark asked, only the tiniest bit chidingly.
    “Yes, sir,” Sally said again. John could scarcely believe how very happy it made him to watch Sally show her submission to Mark that way, and to see him accept that submission so gratefully and gracefully. Only a college freshman, and she had already found a man to whom she could look up as a guide. The chances were probably, John supposed, against them getting married, but he wouldn’t put it past these two to do the hard work required to establish that kind of bond.
    The conversation turned to much more conventional matters. John inquired about their coursework and about their career plans. He made the offer he had made to Mark, and which he had made to several promising students before Mark, to help them along their career paths in any way he could. Sally and Rachel, he knew, could not yet see how important the kind of assistance John could give might be down the road, but he felt confident that they would remember it when the time came. Helping young professionals get started in what they tended to think of as the real world—though John had long since decided that there was no such thing—provided one of the greatest pleasures of John’s life.
    As soon as it could be done politely, Mark and Sally left. John watched Sally hug Rachel with an adorable sort of shyness—as if she were sending Rachel off on her honeymoon.
    After they had gone, and John had gotten himself and Rachel a refill of their coffees, Rachel sat nervously looking at him, clearly waiting for him to begin the discussion.
    He smiled at her to reassure her, and then he said, “What can you tell me about what you’re looking for? I want you to take