“Well, my neighborhood felt more like a small town.” Mary proceeded to explain about her job at Meyer’s, her father’s enlistment, her mother’s incessant badgering, and her desperate letter to Louise looking to get away from all of that.

“I see.”

Mary hung her head. “I’m sorry. I’m sure that was way more information than you were looking for.”

Nora squeezed her hand and released it. “On the contrary, that was the perfect amount of information.” She stopped in front of a small Flat Top on Georgia Avenue. “We’re here.” She opened the door and motioned for Mary to precede her inside.

Her eyes flitted over the space. It wasn’t big, but compared to her dorm room, it was a palace.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s not much.”

“Are you kidding?” Mary spun around. “It’s perfect, and it’s so quiet up here.”

“Want a tour?”

“Yes, please.”

Nora showed her around the place.

“Your own shower. Oh, my God, that must be heavenly.”

“You can’t even imagine.”

“You’re right, I can’t.” They arrived back in the living room.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll put the coffee on.”

Mary hung her coat on the coatrack inside the front door and walked over to the radio. “Can I put on some music?”

“Sure.”

She switched on the radio and found a station playing Glenn Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade.” She began to sway to the music with her eyes closed. When the song ended, she opened her eyes to find Nora staring at her from a vantage point with her back against the kitchen sink. Mary wasn’t sure anyone had ever looked at her the way Nora looked at her right now. The intensity of it made her mouth go dry. I want to kiss you, but I know I shouldn’t. I mean, it’s wrong, right?

The music transitioned to a Frank Sinatra ballad, and Mary beckoned Nora to join her.

“I-I don’t know how to dance.”

“That’s okay. It’s just the two of us, and you only have to know how to sway.”

Tentatively, slowly, Nora bridged the distance between them. She placed her hand in Mary’s and allowed Mary to take her other hand and place it around her waist.

Mary breathed in the scent of her shampoo, and a light floral scent she couldn’t quite identify. She rested her cheek on Nora’s collarbone and moved in closer. The moment their bodies touched, she felt an explosion inside—a quivering in her lower abdomen that was completely new to her—and a tingling sensation throughout her lower limbs and chest.

Nora’s heart galloped next to her ear, and puffs of air caressed the top of her head.