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

When she was a junior at Stanford,she told me she plannedon going to law school and asked whether she should head east.I knew little about law schools but I did know that some of the top ones were here.In March of her senior year,in 2016,she asked if it made sense for her to come to New York,to Columbia Law,which she got into.She madeit clear that she was not following her father’s and her grandfather’s footsteps by going to Stanford.“I mightcome back here when I’m finished but for now I want to get away.”


I made inquiries and tracked down a two-bedroom apartment on West 87th Street,near Central Park,and sheand a friend from Mill Valley,Annie Baxter,took it.Suzanne told me her parents agreed to pay her rent,as they were paying half of her tuition.She said she and Annie were driving east.Annie was going to Columbia Business School.I told Suzanne she could leave the car at our house in Yonkers.She was not to tell her parents that.The less they knew of my involvement the better.


Chapter 10