We ate for a few minutes until he said, “I’m going to run out of time, so we’d better start planning our season.” He reached into his briefcase and brought out some papers. “I had my secretary print out copies of my calendar for the next two months. We can use it to plan.”

He handed me two pages, and I quickly looked through the calendar. Not surprisingly, he had a lot more going on than I did. I didn’t need a secretary to schedule my life. I didn’t even need a notebook.

“You have two work parties,” I noted.

“Yes, I’m sorry if that’s excessive. There’s an office party for the entire firm, then there’s the partners’ party.”

“Gee, I wonder which one is nicer,” I said.

“Actually, they’re both nice,” he said. “The company party is at La Caille.”

“Really?” La Caille was an expensive French restaurant in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. “That’s nice.”

“You’ve been there?”

“It’s been a few years. Actually, I was there for a wedding. It’s a bit above my pay grade. Where’s the partners’ party, the Grand America?”

“The partners’ party is at one of our founders’ homes.”

I went back to the beginning of the calendar. The first event Nicholas had marked was the evening of November ninth. Tomorrow night.

“What’s this Hale Centre event?” I asked.

“That’s the Hale Centre Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol. I’ve heard it’s great, I’ve just never wanted to go alone.” He looked at me. “I know it’s sudden. If you have other plans . . .”

“No, it’s okay,” I said. “I’m not busy.”

He looked pleased.

I moved down the calendar. “What about the following weekend? You marked an event on the sixteenth.”

“There’s nothing scheduled, but is there something you would like to do? We could go to the symphony, ballet, Walmart . . .”

“Let me think about it,” I said. I moved my finger to the next week on the calendar. “The next week is Thanksgiving.”

“Thanksgiving is early this year. Do you have plans?”

“I usually spend it with Dan’s family.”

“Who’s Dan?”

“My ex.”

He looked at me quizzically. “Really?”

“I know, it’s weird. But I’m still close to his parents. The way they see it, their son divorced me but they didn’t. I think they like me more than they like him.”

“How does your ex feel about it?”

“He’s strangely good with it. In a twisted way I think it makes him feel like he has a harem.”

“That’s creepy.”

“That would describe him.”

“You don’t have a better alternative? Family?”

“There’s no one close. My parents have both passed away. I have a sister in Minneapolis. She invites me to her house every year, but it’s too expensive to fly there for a day.”