Looking Through Windows Read Free Page A

if she was okay. Emily smiled and shook her head as the woman left the park like a Pied Piper with a herd of men following her.
     
    Ann got back to her apartment and thanked the guys who had carried her books for her, as they deposited them on her kitchen table. They all filed out except Peter, the one who had run into her.
     
    "Ann," he said awkwardly, "this is not how I usually go about meeting someone, but," he looked down and cleared his throat, "would you go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?"
     
    She quickly considered. Peter seemed like a nice enough guy. She guessed him to be about twenty-one. She hoped he was at least old enough to order wine. "Sure, I'd like that," she smiled. His face took on the trancelike quality she had learned to recognize when she spoke with men. She didn't take her power over them for granted; she just wished she could meet someone who wasn't affected by it. She never felt sure the men she dated wanted to get to know her. They all seemed to get stuck on showing her off like a new car.
     
    "Great! I'll pick you up at seven," Peter said as he stumbled on the threshold of her door. She laughed as she pictured her father's reaction to the fact that within four hours of getting to town she had a date.
     
     
     

Chapter 4
     
    E mily rose early on Saturday and got dressed for a run. The heat had broken, and the temperature outside was a more seasonable fifty-five degrees. She put on an extra long-sleeved t-shirt and pulled the sleeves down over her hands. Instead of going towards town as she had been all week, she decided to follow the road in the opposite direction. It had been a productive week. The other teaching assistants had arrived throughout the week, and she was surprised to find herself the only American among them. She had been able to get nearly her entire semester's lesson plans completed, despite being called upon to help the others with their work.
     
    She had gone a couple of miles and was just feeling warmed up. The sun was shining and the air was crystal clear. As she rounded a bend in the road, she saw a farm with several horses in a field. Just beyond the field, near the road, was a riding ring with jumps of various heights and shapes. In the ring was a tall reddish horse with a rider tugging at a strap on the saddle. The pair set off at a trot, and Emily stopped to watch. They went around the ring a few times, sometimes changing direction. Then they took a couple of low fences. The rider moved very little as the horse's feet tucked neatly then landed lightly on the other side. They did a series of low fences, and then circled around to a series of three higher fences that Emily guessed to be about four feet high. The rider then pulled the horse over to the gate of the ring and exited. She slid down off the horse and rubbed the back of her neck. As she took off her helmet and stretched stiffly, Emily recognized the woman from the park.
     
    "Are you sore from riding or from football?"
     
    Ann turned, startled. She hadn't realized anyone was there. "I'm sorry?"
     
    "I saw you get tackled yesterday," Emily explained.
     
    "Oh, that," Ann smiled. Emily blinked and swallowed. She was gorgeous. "I think it's the football, but this isn't helping today."
     
    "I can understand why. You really got hit." Emily carefully avoided saying where she'd been watching from.
     
    "Well, I think we've had enough for today. Ready to go in, Meg?" Ann took the mare's reins. "Have a good run," she said to Emily as she turned towards the barn.
     
    "Thanks." Emily continued down the road, feeling foolish for her reaction to the woman's smile. She was as bad as the guys. Nonetheless, she was sorry she hadn't gotten her name.
     
    When she returned to the house, she jumped in the shower, then dressed in old clothes and went down for breakfast. Mrs. Gundlach had a large bowl of oatmeal on the table for her. Emily helped herself, topping it off with milk and brown sugar. Mrs. Gundlach sat down