“Don’t hide your hands,” he said.  “They’re lovely.  You are a lovely woman.  I’ll be back, Grace.  You’ve given me the first reason I’ve had for living in a long time.  I will be back.”

Leaving her with this gentle threat, he left.  As the door closed behind him, Grace gave in and wept.

“Damn that old man!” Grace grumbled to herself.  What right did he have to disrupt her life?  She wasn’t young any more, and he shouldn’t be inflicting this strain on her system.  It would serve him right if she died from all the agitation of this last week.

He certainly wasn’t acting as if he was madly in love with her.  He hadn’t been to see her for four days.  Not that she was sorry about his absence, but one did wonder what he was up to.  She had seen him passing by everyday as he took his usual morning walks, but he hadn’t stopped at her door.

She pulled the curtain aside, peered out of the window, and quickly dropped the curtain back into place.  He had been just going by, and he had glanced at the window as she had looked  out.  Her face aflame with humiliation at having been caught, she went back to her chair.

Why couldn’t he leave her alone?  He’s left you alone for four days, a portion of her mind reminded her.  He’s merely trying to drive me crazy, was her retort to herself.  Is he succeeding, was the response that came flying back.

The doorbell rang.  Grace’s heart fluttered erratically.

“Oh, no!”  she muttered in a panic.  “He’s come because he saw me looking at him!”

She sat, frozen, until the bell rang again.  With dread, she rose, went to the door, and opened it.

“Groceries, Ma’am.”   It was the delivery boy.

“Oh.  Oh.”  Confused, she stood in the door.

“Do you want me to bring them in?”

“Oh!  Yes. Yes, of course.  I was expecting someone else, “ she explained.

After paying and tipping the grocery boy, she returned to her chair.  She sat for a few minutes calming herself.  She knew that she had to face up to it.  When she saw the grocery boy at the door instead of Julian, the disappointment was too great to ignore.

“Okay, you old coot, I miss you,” she said to the window.

He would be returning from his walk about now.

She went to her stereo cabinet and looked through her music.  She found what she was looking for and put it in the stereo.  The strains of a waltz began to drift through the room.  She stared dreamily into space for a moment, then turned to the window.  She reached out and pulled the drapes wide open, then stepped closer to the window and watched.

He soon came around the corner and was approaching the walk before her.  She felt a flutter and thrill in her stomach.  As he reached her section of the walk, he glanced at her window.  He saw her and made a sudden stop.  They stared at one another for a few seconds.  Then Grace raised her hand, smiled, and waved to him.

He looked over his shoulder, turned back, and with raised eyebrows laid a hand on his chest.

“Me?” he mouthed.

She nodded, and he smiled and waved back.

She leaned toward the window and mouthed, “Coffee?”

He immediately headed for the door and was in before she could get to it to open it for him.

Once in the living room he stopped.  The strains of the waltz still stirred in the room.

“Hello, Grace,” he said.

“Hello, Julian.”

“Grace?”

“Yes, Julian?”

“May I have this waltz?”

“Oh, Julian.  It would be my pleasure.”