“Why did he need to know that?" Shelley asked.

“I don't know. But it was creepy. And he was taking notes of everything I said. I quit pouring out personal information, asked a few questions, then got out of there," Jane said.

“But Jane, lots of people would love being asked all about themselves," Shelley said. "I'm always getting survey calls on the phone from people who are apparently amazed that I won't tell them my age and the family income. They whine about how the survey won't be valid without it, which leads me to think that other people are so flattered at being asked their opinions that they do give that information.”

Jane laughed. "Little do the surveyors know that there are people who would happily pay you to keep your opinions to yourself. Like the school principal, the PTA president, the entire IRS, that police officer who tried to give you a parking ticket—”

Shelley sat up very straight. "That wasn't an opinion. It was a definition. Parking and standing are two distinctly different things and the officer agreed with me — eventually."

“Agreed? I heard he was weeping openly when you got through with him," Jane said.

Suzie laughed. "Here I am lurking in the dark, trying to catch a rich husband, and all I catch is the two of you! What a waste of a beautiful spring evening.”

"So what did you decide about Mike's graduation gift?" Shelley asked a little later.

Shelley and Jane had determined that after their ordeal they were richly entitled to a cup of coffee and a donut and were sitting at Jane’s kitchen table, indulging. Jane's big yellow dog, Willard, was watching every bite either of them took, hoping for crumbs.

Jane leaned back and looked into the living room to make sure Mike wasn't there. "Oh, a car. I haven't got any choice. This is a delivery job he has this summer and Conrad can't afford to supply a vehicle. If Mike takes my car, I'm stranded. Katie's teaching at the Vacation Bible School and can walk, but Todd's got soccer team and guitar lessons, and I can't expect somebody else to drive him all the time. Mike will need a car for college anyway. He's determined to go to school in-state and come home often. I think he feels like I can't get along without him nearby."