Too, Judi was truly her only friend. Grace hadn't been around San Mateo long enough to make friends with other people. Married men she avoided… like the plague! And single men? The ones she knew who were still single were either homosexuals or always on the make. No, thank you; Stan had only nine more months in Vietnam. She'd spend it alone – maybe having coffee in the mornings and an occasional beer in the later afternoons with Judi. She kept busy, that was the main thing. And best of all, she had her self-respect, her love untarnished, her memories unblemished. Topping it all off was her unexpected promotion to Office Manager of Austin Motor Sales. Not bad for a twenty-three-year-old girl just recently from Butte, Montana. All she needed to make life complete now was Stan to come back to her.

Traffic suddenly lessened at the 280 Interchange, and Judi's Volkswagen picked up speed. Five minutes later, the little bug darted under the carport of the San Mateo Polynesian Gardens apartment complex. Although they were now parked in the shade, the heat was more intense than ever.

Judi slammed the car door and made no effort to pull down her mini-skirt which had slid up to the point where her powder blue bikini panties were plainly visible. She fanned herself with a newspaper and grimaced. "God, it's hot. I'm going for a swim. How about you?"

Grace nodded. The pool would be heavenly. Best of all, the running, screaming kids who usually flocked like wild birds around it during the late afternoons, would all be in having dinner.

Judi disappeared, heading upstairs to her apartment. Grace lost no time in going around front to the column after column of bronze mail boxes shining dully in the sun. The heat was forgotten as the key was inserted. "Please… please!" she silently prayed, "let there be a letter from Stan."

The metal door fell open to reveal three white envelopes hiding in the cubicle.