The girl in the green suit was walking away.

One minute to six…

Then Lieutenant Blandforf’s heart leaped higher than his plane had ever done.

A young woman was coming toward him. Her figure was long and slim; her blond hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears. Her eyes were blue as flowers; her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive.

He started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was wearing no rose, and as he moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips.

‘Going my way, soldier? ’ she murmured.

Uncontrollably, he made one step closer to her. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.

She was standing almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past forty, her graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump; her thick-ankled feet were thrust into low-heeled shoes. But she wore a red rose in the rumpled lapel of her brown coat.

The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.

Blandford felt as though he were being split into two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own; and there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible; he could see that now. Her grey eyes had a warm, kindly twinkle.

Lieutenant Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the small, worn, blue leather copy Of Human Bondage which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even rarer than love – a friendship for which he had been and must ever be grateful…

He squared his broad shoulders, saluted, and held the book out toward the woman, although even while he spoke he felt choked by the bitterness of his disappointment.

‘I’m Lieutenant John Blandford, and you – you are Miss Meynell. I’m so glad you could meet me. May – may I take you to dinner? ’

The woman’s face broadened in a tolerant smile. ‘I don’t know what this is all about, son, ’ she answered. ‘That young lady in the green suit – the one who just went by – begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you asked me to go out with you, I should tell you that she’s waiting for you in that big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of a test. I’ve got two boys with Uncle Sam myself, so I didn’t mind to oblige you.’

Vocabulary

Lift

· Not lift a finger

· Give smb a lift

· Lift one’s spirit

Note

· Note sth down

· Strike the right note

· Strike a false note

Control

· Be in control of sth

· Bring under control

· Lose control of get out of control

Fill

· Fill in/out

· Filling

Fail

· Unfailingly

· Failure

· A failure

Catch

· Catch up with sb

· Catch sb’s attention/ fancy

· Catch sb’s eye

· Catch one’s breath

· Catch fire

Doubt

Without doubt

Agree

· Agree with sb on/ with sth

· Agreement

· Arrive at/ reach an agreement

Haunt

Curve

Keen