Sarah was surprised at this sudden chill, but she took it calmly enough; after all, this had been a long tiring day and anyone, even nice old Henry Hawkins, was entitled to be a bit frayed around the edges. She was there in the pickup camper alone when he returned over an hour later. Only by finding a distant American radio station on the camper's receiver had she managed to stave off the worrying restlessness of boredom, but she was quite relaxed and contented now when he came back, and the warm smile on the middle-aged man's face put her even more at ease.

"Sorry to have to leave you so long like this, Miss Olsen… oh, excuse me, Mrs. Olsen, I forget you're still really married," apologized the middle-aged graying man quite sheepishly. Sarah found herself embarrassed by his shyness, his self-effacing manner.

"Oh, don't give it another thought. I was quite happy, really. It's nice to be able to relax and enjoy the quiet of this beautiful countryside. And you ought to call me Sarah, then there wouldn't be any problem remembering that silly ol' Miss or Mrs.," said Sarah smiling in relief at being back in his good graces again. Hawkins smiled at her suggestion and nodded, then opened the camper's refrigerator and pulled out a cold beer.

"Want one?" he asked. "Nothing better'n beer to cut the dirt from a hard day's driving."

Sarah shook her head. "I know it sounds silly in this day and age, but I don't drink. Guess it was 'cause my pappa… stepfather, actually… drank so much and I grew up seeing the ugly side of liquor. Never really cared for it since I can remember."

The wrinkle-faced, sun-toughened old man grinned. "Yep, you're probably wise. Liquor never did anybody any real good, even the weak stuff like beer and wine. Still though, I guess I'm too old to change my evil ways now." Sarah's lips eased into a smile at the thought of nice ol' Mr. Hawkins being evil. Christ, after some of the people she had known – or the one she'd married – he was like a man of the cloth. "You don't mind if I have this beer, do ya'?" he asked.