“Do you travel a lot, then?” asked the waiter.
“All the time,” Nick said. “I write books, and I write for travel magazines. I write about everything -different countries, towns, villages, Ribera, mountains, people…”
...Suddenly, the girl smiled. Then she walked
across the street, came up to Nick's table, and sat down.She put her bag down on the table. The bag was halı-open.
'Hi! I'm Jan,' she said. 'Do you remember me?
We met at a party in Toronto.' .
'Hi, Jan,' said Nick. He smiled. 'l'm Nick But
we didn't meet at a party in Toronto. I don't go to parties very often, and never in Toronto.'
'Oh,' the girl said. But she didn't get up or
move away.
'Have some coffee,' said Nick. The story about the party in Toronto wasn't true, but it was a beautiful morning, and she was a pretty girl.
'Maybe it was a party in Montreal. Or New York.'
The girl laughed. 'OK. Maybe it was. And yes, I'd love some coffee.'
...
'Excuse me,' somebody said.
'Can I sit with you?' Nick looked up.
There was a pretty girl next to his table.
He got up. 'It - it's OK,' he said.
'You can have this table. I don't want it.' And he began to move away.
'Please don't go,' the girl said.
'Stay and finish your dinner.'
She smiled at him. It was a nice smile.
But Nick knew all about nice smiles.
'I'm not hungry,' he said. And he walked quickly out of the restaurant.