How about an excerpt from A Pact with the Living? Josh has just met Merry at an anti-war protest in downtown Boulder. This scene takes place after a harrowing near collision with an angry redneck driving his pick-up truck through the marching crowd. Here’s a link to a reprint of the original article, “Suppose They Gave a War, and No One Came.”
An hour later, Josh and Merry fell onto the bus stop bench at University Avenue. Once again, he was delighted to be sitting next to the pretty girl in the paisley skirt. This time, she really was waiting for a bus to her house in South Boulder. After the near-disaster on the bridge, they had walked up Broadway and passed several other benches, talking and getting to know each other. Her breezy manner and radiant smile were charming but it was the natural way she regularly grabbed his hand or clutched his elbow that captivated him. She especially didn’t hide her fascination with him. When they sat down, she had pressed up against his side.
“Hey, Josh, you might be into this.” She scooped some flimsy pages from the macramé bag, straightened and smoothed them. “It’s an article out of McCall’s. My mom has stacks of old magazines piled up in our den. I was leafing through a few of them and just happened to open the October ’66 issue to this page. It’s pretty cool. So, I ripped the pages out and have been showing it to my friends.” Merry paused and looked at Josh. With a wink and suggestive grin, she added, “Yeah, you look like you could be a friend.”
Lightly gripping the magazine pages with her fingertips, she held them out for him. He accepted them with the same delicate touch and studied the top page. In the upper left hand corner was the picture of a young man who had a serious expression, pointy hair and a striped shirt. He looked pretty conservative and straight. Then, bold letters jumped off the page: “Suppose They Gave a War, and No One Came.”
“Pretty heavy title, huh?” Merry said. Rummaging around in her bag, she pulled out a worn, large envelope. “Here, put the pages in this and you can take it with you and read it when you get a chance. I want it back, though, so I guess we’ll have to see each other again.”
Her gaze made his insides turn to jelly. He’d stay on that bench all day and night just to feel her closeness, but if she wanted to see him again, he could hang onto that promise. “Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, yeah, we’ll have to get together again so I can give you back this article. Oh yeah, after I read it.”
She laughed and touched her upper lip with her fingers. Diving back into the handbag, she withdrew a scrap of paper and a stubby pencil. Scribbling, she handed him the note and rose. “Call me real soon, okay?”
Josh jumped up with the sound of the bus rumbling toward them. His thoughts were a jumble. He gave up trying to make sense of it all and watched her watch the bus creak to a stop. When the doors banged open, Merry stepped onto the bottom tread. She turned, put a hand on his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek.