“I did. I really did. I learned the difference between ‘that’ and ‘who.’”

Doug chuckled.

“Don’t laugh. I’m serious. That’s something that always stuck with me. Before I had your class, I used to say, ‘The person that went to the store,’ or ‘The guy that sold me the car.’ But ever since you gave us that lecture, I say ‘The person who went to the store,’ ‘The guy who sold me the car.’”

“I’m glad I got through to somebody.”

“You did. And it’s helped me a lot. Now I’m a real snob about it, in fact. Once I went to this party and there was a guy in really trendy clothes playing the serious intellectual. Only he kept saying ‘that’ when he should have said ‘who.’ It made me feel so superior! Here was this man who should have intimidated the hell out of me, and I wasn’t intimated by him at all. I felt sort of embarrassed for him, if you want to know the truth. It was great!”

Doug wasn’t sure what to say. “Thank you, I guess.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You’re giving him a swelled head,” Tritia said. “Now it’s going to be even more impossible to live with him.”

Giselle didn’t pick up on the humor. “He’s the best teacher I ever had,” she said seriously. “Even though he gave me a C.” She looked toward her shopping cart at the end of the aisle. “Well, I’ve got to get going. I’ll be around for a while, though. Maybe we’ll run into each other in town somewhere.” She looked shyly away. “Maybe we can meet for lunch or something.”

Doug nodded. “Maybe. Nice seeing you again.”

The girl returned to her cart, retreating down the aisle, and Tritia raised her eyebrows. “Ha,” she said.

“What does that mean, ha?”

“You know exactly what it means.”

“The poor girl obviously came to the store to get herself a quarter-pound Hoffy, and you’re picking on her.”