And so it was. Young men, working men, spoiled men, tired men, poor men, rich men- they had all found in her something that they could not do without, and they had all, at one point, without even a hint of understanding, faced the inevitable disappointment of realizing that the something was just beyond their reach. All of the men had, on some climactic, forever-to-be-remembered evening, confessed their genuine love for Marie, but only one man’s word had done the trick…

   Walter Lyons was his name, and at the time of their introduction, he was a poor but promising senior of Tulane University, slightly older than Marie, but invariably charming. He was tall and handsome, with short hair and a dazzling smile that- like an arrow sent forth from Cupid-would have, if he had intended it to do so, entranced any woman of his choosing into a state of temporary infatuation. But Walter was cool and Walter was wise. He believed that he had a sense of class that his friends-who often recklessly awoke to sensations of deep regret and embarrassment in foreign beds- seemed to be without. So he kept to himself, and though he did often find himself gazing laudably at the youthful temptresses of the underclass, he was never inspired or wildly moved by a girl until, at some casual autumn party on a Saturday evening, he met Marie.

   It was only after this that he developed a tendency to spend the lonely, post midnight hours of his weeknights walking throughout the dark halls of his dormitory, constantly turning his introduction to the sweet siren over in his mind, and for the first time, individually addressing the infinite possibilities of a newborn love. And, not so scarcely, his thoughts would lead his mind so far from the present that he would find himself outside- standing before some unconscious destination- or slowly drifting down the streets of late New Orleans as their occupants obstructively unfurled, resisting rest like a tired, stubborn child bound for bed.

  And each morning, somewhere between two thirty and three, he would attempt to stealthily open the creaking door of his dorm and swiftly slip into a soothing slumber- avoiding an awakening of his restless roommate. But he would always fail, and he would always have to endure a brief, informal speech from the shaded character.