Mary Elizabeth Nelson is the oldest child in a conservative Roman Catholic family in a wealthy suburb of San Francisco. As a sophomore at Berkeley in 1983, Mary is discovered by her mother in a "compromising position" with another woman, and she is summarily disowned.<br><br>She moves to New York and works as a waitress. While auditing an Austen seminar at NYU, she falls for fellow student, Betty Anne Elliot. The two foolishly share one night of passion before Betty decides to marry and disappear from Mary's life.<br><br>That is, until twenty years later when she calls still-single, successful writer Mary out-of-the-blue. Can the romance they had that first day blossom into love and passion?

Mary Elizabeth Nelson

I had no idea who I could call.I had lots of friends,but I could not open to any of them.Then I thought of,and you will think that I am making this up,but I did it.I worked for Time and I probably should not have but I tracked down Evelyn Donnell.She was one of my high-school teachers on whom I had a crush.I ran into herin a vintage-clothes shop in the East Village about five years earlier.She lived in Scarsdale,which meant she was married and probably had two-and-a-half kids and a lab or golden retriever.And it turned out that she was married to a doctor and she was still teaching,at a localhigh-school.


I called her and after I told her who I was she said she remembered me.I do not know if she did,but she was happyto meet on the following day,a Saturday.I called Betty and told her I needed time and she told me,and I am sorry but I still treasure it,she’d wait“forever.”I did not want to hear that.


Chapter 5