His pity fled as he realized how much she loved him. He came up on one elbow. ‘Do you … you feel all right?’ he asked falteringly.

‘Yeh,’ she breathed softly, ‘I’m fine. God,’ she erupted again with a sigh, ‘I’d of never expected it of you. You just swept me away.’

Astonished, he tried to remember how it had happened, and wondered if this was what was meant by sweeping a girl off her feet. ‘I couldn’t help myself, dear,’ he said, with less apology.

Suddenly she sat up and grasped his face and kissed him, forcing his head deep into the grass. Then resting her cheek upon his chest, she whispered wondrously,’ God.’

He stared up through the tree. After a moment he expanded his chest and kept it that way, breathing with his stomach. Sensation was beginning to flow back into his body. His limbs seemed to be growing longer and thicker. For an instant he felt six feet tall.

‘Gertrude,’ he said. They ought to be moving on. He kept glancing into the dark, ready for the twinkle of a flashlight.

She raised her head and looked down at him. ‘You look like Claude Rains now,’ she said.

‘That’s because you can’t see my face,’ he smiled.

‘I can just imagine what you look like now, though. You got the same little bags under your eyes. You’re about his size too. You really are. I saw him in Hollywood. You’re a lot like each other.’

‘Oh, go on.’

‘I’m not kidding. You could make a fortune in pictures.’

‘Oh, stop now.’ It embarrassed him, and drew him.

‘You’re wasting yourself; you are, really.’

‘I’m not an actor. Never could be.’

‘Not necessarily an actor. You could be an executive. You’re an executive type.’

‘You really think so?’

‘I do. You know most executives don’t get there till their forties. I read it in an article when I was having my hair done.’

‘I’ve heard that said, but …’

‘You ought to look around sharper. There’s probably a lot laying dormant in you. I looked up your month on the zodiac, home.’

‘Oh, did you? I meant to ask you.’

‘You’re the executive type, all right.’

‘Well, I don’t put much stock in those …’

‘Don’t kid yourself. Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood don’t make a move until they see what the charts have to say about what’s in store for them.’

‘I’ve read that.’

‘It’s true. For all you know you could have the possibilities of a big man. I mean it. Sometimes I look around in the office at some of those executives and then I look at you …’

‘Well, I can only try. I do my work and …’

‘Nobody gets anywhere just doing his work. You got to make contacts. You’re hiding yourself under a bushel so the light can’t come out. I’ve been wanting to tell you this. Really,’ she said. ‘What you ought to do is think of some business to go into. Something that would give you a chance to spread out and show your abilities.’