They had a daughter who found Ceiley to be a wonderful friend.

“Gilbert and I were marveling at the fact that you obviously have rules, but none of the young people seem to resent it. My daughter thinks you are cool, but she says, ‘No one dares get out of line.”

“Gordon tells them he will banish them to Siberia, and no one can figure out if he is serious or not. They don’t dare to try to find out,” Katherine said with a laugh. “He says it with such authority.”

“I know why the boys toe the line,” said her husband. “It’s very obvious they have all fallen in love with Katherine, and they are afraid if they foul up they won’t be able to come back.” His wife started to laugh, “I never thought of that, but I think Gilbert is right. That’s why they act so nice and polite in your house,” she said.

Katherine started to laugh, “I think you are overplaying my part in this whole thing. We have always laid out the rules up front, while at the same time being sympathetic to the growing pains these young people are going through. Ceiley keeps us up to date,” Katherine said.

“We try to work at it with the help of Ceiley,” Gordon added.

“Although I will admit that you three have a very wonderful rapport, I still think my theory holds water,” insisted Gilbert.

“Of course, Gordon’s mystique, doesn’t hurt anything as far as the girls are concerned either,” added Shelley. “Although our daughter hasn’t said anything, it is obvious she thinks you are really something special, Gordon.”

“Oh that will do wonders for my reputation as a writer of spy thrillers and mystery stories. An idol of teen-age girls,” observed Gordon with a laugh. Gilbert and Shelley started laughing too, at the way Gordon had said it.

Ceiley walked into the room about that time, “What’s this about my dad being an idol of teen-age girls?” Ceiley asked, then she added with a little giggle, “Well I will admit that he is my idol, and I am a teen-ager.”

“You don’t count, Ceiley,” Katherine put in. “You’re his daughter and he’s suppose to be your idol.”

Gilbert turned to his daughter, Casey, who had walked into the room with Ceiley. “Am I your idol, kitten?” he asked with a smile on his face.

“Of course, you are, dad,” Casey quickly replied with a little giggle.

“She’s fast on her feet,” laughed Gordon. “About as fast as Ceiley. They’ll go a long way.”

Ceiley and Casey took off out the door with a brief, over-the-shoulder explanation as to where they were headed. That evening Gordon and Katherine were going to a welcoming cocktail party for the new staff members of several departments at the college. This included Gordon’s department. Ceiley was going to stay over with Casey that night.

Gordon and Katherine planned to arrive a few minutes after the cocktail party was to start. He knew that some of the younger new staff members would be there a little early. Of course, the heads of the departments would also be there early. Other old-time members of the departments would be fashionably late. Gordon planned it so they would arrive in between those two groups. Gordon knew when he walked in with Katherine he would get plenty of notice. Actually it would be Katherine who would get plenty of notice. He would probably be all but ignored, except for the fact that he would be introducing her as his wife. The thought tickled Gordon. This had happened before. To Gordon, that actually was a plus.

Gordon and Katherine had to park a short distance away from where the cocktail party was being held. On the way, they met another couple, a woman professor and her husband. She had been with the University for a number of years. Gordon introduced Katherine to them.

“The dean’s wife said you had a very attractive wife, Dr. Dietrich,” Dr. Eileen Sampson remarked. “I think she was very conservative.” Her husband, who was smiling at his wife’s remark, said, “Dr. Kanzac’s wife is going to have very green eyes tonight, don’t you think darling?”

His wife laughed, “I think that will be putting it mildly. Even she will realize that she has been completely outclassed.”

Gordon looked a little puzzled at this exchange. Eileen noticed this and explained, “Susan Anne has always considered herself the beauty of the staff members wives and female staff members. She always dresses and acts the part. This has always seemed to be very important to her. Incidentally, few in the college care much for her,” Dr. Sampson said.

“I will be happy to have her retain that distinction,” Katherine observed with a smile.

Eileen smiled, “My dear Katherine, I know Gordon and my husband will agree. You could have come tonight in jeans and a flannel shirt, and you would have commanded the attention of every man the minute you walked into the room,” she told her.

“I think you are exaggerating, Eileen,” Katherine remarked. But Gordon just smiled. Delbert Sampson laughed, “No, Dr. Tallemann, she is not exaggerating a bit. I think even Gordon would agree. In fact,” he said with a smile, “I’m going to enjoy walking in with you and Gordon. It will be really interesting to see the reaction of people.”

About that time they reached the place where the party was being held. The four of them walked in and were greeted by heads of two of the departments and their wives. After being introduced to Katherine, one of the wives said, “Our nephew was over to your house the other day. He stopped in to our place afterwards. I asked if he met the two of you. His comment, and I can’t possibly say it with the same expression, was YEAH. Then after a very expressive pause he added, Wow, is Dr. Tallemann ever beautiful.” The woman laughed, “He said it almost reverently. Now I know why.”

Katherine laughed, “I don’t know why he would have said that. At home, I always have on an old baggy pair of jeans and half-the-time one of Gordon’s old sloppy work shirts.”

“Yes she’s always stealing my shirts,” said Gordon. “It isn’t bad enough that I have a teen-age daughter that does that.”

“You mean you have two beautiful women at home?” asked one of the department heads. Then he added, “I’m assuming your daughter looks like your wife.”

The other wife answered for Gordon, “I’ve seen their daughter. She is going to look just like her mother. It is obvious to practically everyone already.”

“Have you installed traffic signals to control the traffic?” asked the other professor facetiously.

“Luckily,” said Gordon, “We have not been here long enough, but I am seriously considering that for the future.” Katherine laughed. “You haven’t done that because of me, darling,” she said that with a tilt of her head.

Gordon looked at her with a inquiring smile. “Do I have to do so?” he asked. Katherine just gave him a big hug.

“Actually,” said Katherine, “I make sure that everyone is fully informed I am very happily married to the only man alive I would consider running away with.”

Everyone laughed at that. Then one of the wives looked at Gordon, “And what do you say?”

Gordon laughed, “They would put me in an institution, if I even facetiously hinted that I might consider leaving Katherine. I would immediately be labeled totally, mentally incompetent.”

“You definitely would be,” said Delbert, smiling at the thought.

“I’m Katherine’s for life,” said Gordon. “I don’t think anyone would doubt that for a minute.”

“Well, now that we have that settled,” observed Katherine with a smile, “We had better start moving into the room and stop blocking traffic.” Several more couples had come in. Every one there was introduced and they started to move into the room where the party was being held. As Delbert had predicted, everyone turned to look at Katherine as she walked into the room with Gordon. One of the bachelors in Gordon’s particular department at the University, upon being introduced to Katherine, inquired of Gordon, “First, how were you lucky enough to find her, and then what magic did you weave to get her to agree to marry you?”

Before Gordon could frame a suitable reply, Katherine spoke up, “That is easy. He saved my life. He was a perfect gentleman. I fell in love with him. I trapped him and dragged him to the alter,” Katherine had a hard-to-read smile on her face.

“My explanation is much simpler,” Gordon remarked. “I came. I saw. She conquered.” Then he continued, “I caught her in a weak moment, and she was too much of a lady to back out.”

The group that was gathered around them laughed at the exchange.

One of the group commented, “Do you two ever give a serious answer to the question of how you got together?”

Gordon and Katherine answered practically together an emphatic, “No.” Then they both laughed.

“I understand that you are teaching at the other college in town, Dr. Tallemann?” inquired one of the men in the group.

“Yes,” answered Katherine. “That is one of the reasons we chose to come here.”

The Dean of the school came walking up at that time, “I’m very thankful that it was possible to arrange that.”

The Dean’s wife, who had met Katherine before, added with a smile, “I can just see the faces of the young men, when they walk into Dr. Tallemann’s class on the first day.” Then she added, “I really don’t think they will hear a word you say that day, Katherine. They will have fallen in love.”

“Add to that her lovely English accent, and a lovely voice to boot, they won’t have a chance,” added one of the women professors.

Not everyone in the group that gathered for this introductory gathering was happy to see Katherine come into the room. It wasn’t only Dr. Kanzac’s wife, who had envious eyes when they saw Katherine. Several wives, not knowing anything about Katherine, saw a possible threat to their married life, especially those in which there were problems already.

The majority however, welcomed Gordon and Katherine into the group. Both would be good for the particular college programs in which they were teaching. In addition, having two best selling authors on the campuses made very good promotional material for both colleges. It was also a positive thing that they developed the reputation for having a very solid marriage. Although Katherine’s beauty was obvious to all the men, Gordon’s easy, natural charm was not lost on the women. That they, had a teen-age daughter, lent another look of solidity to their relationship. Few knew that Ceiley was not Gordon’s child. Ceiley treated him as if he was her real father. In fact, as far as she was concerned, he was, and that was that.

Ceiley knew Gordon had literally saved her and her mother’s lives. Katherine told her the whole story.

Both Katherine and Gordon were easy to get to know and talk to. This surprised a number of the people at the party. Everyone there knew of their international reputations as best selling authors. As a result, they acquired a number of new friends that night. There were also a number who were not please they were here. Both Katherine and Gordon knew that would be the case. However they both considered the evening a success.

The following week, an introductory cocktail party was held for departments at Katherine’s college. Most of the faculty had met Katherine previously. Their spouses had not. On the way from their car to the place the party was being held, they met a colleague of Katherine’s and her husband. After greeting them Dr. Sara Gunderson told Katherine, “I warned my husband ahead of time. I also told him your line that you were married to the only man you would consider running away with.”

Her husband Troy said, “I thought she might be exaggerating when she said you could make a movie star or model jealous, Dr. Tallemann. Now I see she understated the situation.”

“Well thank you for the lovely compliment,” said Katherine.

Troy laughed, “Oh compliments are easy when they’re also the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

“Now I think you are being overly dramatic, dear,” laughed Dr. Gunderson. Then she turned to Gordon. “I think I read that you were with Allied Intelligence during the war. Did you use those skills to seek out and enmesh Katherine?”

Katherine laughed, “Actually he was hunting much bigger game when he accidentally ensnared me.”

“So I promptly forgot what I was hunting,” added Gordon with a laugh.

“I don’t blame you,” Troy said immediately. His wife raised her eyebrows at him, but she was smiling. Katherine and Sara Gunderson had become fast friends practically from their first meeting. They found they tended to think alike on many things. The Gundersons also had a daughter in the same class as Ceiley in high school. Christina Gunderson and Ceiley were in choir together and became friends.

Sara asked Gordon, “I suppose you realize that every male student in your wife’s classes immediately fall in love with her.”

“I have observed that phenomena before,” admitted Gordon. “I have even observed that most women students tend to think she’s wonderful.”

“It didn’t take long for the word to get out, and all her classes were closed, with waiting lists,” Sara added with a laugh.

“I don’t have that problem with my classes,” said Gordon. Katherine laughed. “How come the Dean said he had no problem filling any of your classes then?”

“Oh, he was just being nice,” said Gordon.

They arrived at the place and went inside. The Dean along with a couple of Department heads greeted them. Katherine got the stares even from the women. One of the Department heads had not met Katherine. “I thought the Dean was exaggerating, Dr. Tallemann. I see now he wasn’t in the least. It also explains a certain young man’s behavior at registration. He went dancing down the hall saying, ‘I got Dr. Tallemann’s class, I got Dr. Tallemann’s class’.” Everyone there started laughing at the thought of that sight.

With Sara and Troy, Katherine and Gordon began moving through the room meeting and greeting people. As in Gordon’s group, they made a number of new friends. There possibly were a few more who would just as soon they not be around. There were a few women faculty members who thought of Katherine as unfair competition. There were the usual number of women, who did not really know Katherine and Gordon, who saw Katherine as a possible threat to their happy home.

In this case, the fact that Katherine was easy to get to know and talk to, did nothing to alleviate their concerns. The evening, as far as Katherine and Gordon were concerned, was a success. They met a number of new people in the community, and they added a few more new friends. At the moment, they were not particularly worried about those who were relatively cool to them. They knew that in time most of that would disappear. Both Katherine and Gordon had a way of winning people over. It had been the basis of Gordon’s success during the war. Gordon had continued to hone that ability. It was part of his plan.

The next two months went relatively uneventfully. Katherine and Gordon’s house started to be a gathering point for Ceiley’s teen-age friends. Students in Katherine’s classes found out they had to work. They also found out she was an excellent and fair teacher. There were practically no absences from her classes. She even became a favorite of the young women students. During her announced office hours, her office was always full of students. Wherever she went on campus, there were students hanging around hoping to get to talk to her.

Gordon’s classes also proved popular. He made his classes fun, but he also made sure they knew he expected top work from every one of them. There were few dropouts from his classes. Like Katherine, wherever he went on campus, he attracted students. Part of Gordon’s attraction was because he was a best-selling author. Part of it was from the fact it became known he had been an espionage agent during the war. Gordon also proved to be a very good teacher. He was willing to talk to the students. He could talk to them on their level. He was carefully building this character of a popular college professor.

Ceiley joined the school choir and earned a place on the women’s group and on the small choir, which brought together the best voices in the choir. They were putting on their fall concert. Gordon and Katherine promised to be there. It was open to the public, but most of the audience was usually made up of parents, relatives and friends of the members of the choir. Parents of the members provided cookies, bars and other sweets for a snack after the performance. This served as a get together for parents and relatives of the students to show their support of the music program of the school. It was usually very well attended. Katherine made some sweets from recipes from her family. She sent these with Ceiley.

Because of commitments, Gordon and Katherine were coming separately. Ceiley had ridden to school that evening with the family of one of her friends. Because Gordon and Katherine each arrived just before the beginning of the performance, they found seats where they could. They did not see each other, but trusted the other had also made it. Ceiley was able to spot both Gordon and Katherine before the program began. She expected her parents to make it, but it was reassuring to see that they did.

“Where are your parents, Ceiley?” a friend asked.

“Well, my dad is sitting on the aisle on the right and toward the back, and my mother is sitting on the aisle on the left toward the front.”

“Aren’t they talking to each other?” one of the boys asked somewhat facetiously.

Ceiley laughed, “Oh, they are talking to each other. They had meetings and couldn’t get here until just before the beginning of the concert. They came separately and decided to just find the best seat and get together when they meet me after the concert.”

“At least they make sure they get here before the concert starts,” said another girl. “My dad has never gotten to anything I was in on time.”

“Yeah, my mom’s kind of like that,” said another boy.

“Your mom’s real easy to spot, Ceiley,” said Casey, Ceiley’s friend and next door neighbor.

“Why?” asked one of the other girls.

Casey laughed, “Just look for the most beautiful woman in the room. The one with beautiful auburn hair.”

“Yeah,” echoed a boy who had been to Ceiley’s house several times.

All members of the choir were going to be looking for Ceiley’s mom on the left aisle to the front. Especially the boys that had not met her yet.

The concert went off on time and went very well. They got plenty of applause and so did the director, a young woman. Afterward, everyone was looking for everyone else. The students were busy talking to other students, while parents and other relatives were trying to find their student. Katherine and Gordon decided they would both zero in on finding Ceiley. Gordon was able to find her first. He came up while Ceiley was talking to the choir director and her husband and another teacher and his wife.

Ceiley spotted him, “Hi, Dad. Where’s Mom? I saw her in the crowd. She was on the opposite side of the auditorium from you.”

The director looked questioningly at Ceiley. Gordon laughed and then said in explanation, “We are talking to each other. We just had separate meetings that we knew were going to run late. We agreed just to find a seat and after the program get together with Ceiley.”

Shelley walked up at that time with Casey, “You figured Ceiley might be harder to track down. To find Katherine all you would have to do is look for a crowd of admiring men.” The teachers and their spouses looked at Shelley. “I take it you mean Ceiley’s mother is very attractive,” said the director. Then looking at Ceiley with a smile added, “That wouldn’t surprise me in the least.”

“Make that very, very beautiful, as well as very, very charming,” said Gilbert, Casey’s father, as he came up to join the group. Then he added with a smile, “And I can say that without my wife getting mad at me. We are neighbors, and Shelley and Katherine are very good friends.”

Shelley laughed, “I tell him he can look but not touch.”

“And I obey explicitly,” Gilbert added.

“I knew that Casey and Ceiley were very good friends. I didn’t realize they were next door neighbors,” the other teacher said.

“Yes,” said Gordon, “They both live at both houses. That’s the only way you can explain it.”

“Luckily the clan gathers at the Dietrich’s,” said Gilbert. “Everyone obeys the rules at their place. Of course, I have my own theory why all the teenagers act so nice at Gordon and Katherine’s place.”

“Why is that?” questioned the choir director’s husband.

Shelley smiled and answered, “Wait until you see Dr. Tallemann. Then all will be clear.”

About that time, Katherine came walking up to join the group. Ceiley greeted her, “Hi, Mom. How did you like the concert?”

“I thought it was wonderful, Ceiley,” she answered, as she gave Ceiley a hug. Then Katherine greeted Casey, Shelley and Gilbert. Ceiley then introduced Katherine to the choir director and her husband and the teacher and his wife.

Both men were just looking at Katherine, not saying a word. The choir director said, “I see what you mean, Mrs. Martin. Just by seeing the looks on my husband and Mr. Tannin’s face.” Then she turned to Katherine, “Dr. Tallemann, you teach college, don’t you. Knowing students, and especially college students, every male student on campus must have fallen in love with you.”

Katherine laughed, “I think it wears off rather quickly if that ever were the case.”

Mr. Tannin was silent for a moment, “In your case, Dr. Tallemann, I don’t think that would be true.” Then he added, “I can see what Mr. Martin was implying. All the teenagers, especially the boys, would be afraid to get out of line. They would be afraid they would be banished from Ceiley’s home.”

Gordon laughed, “Katherine and I have never analyzed the reason, for the phenomenon of the Ceiley’s teenage friends obeying our rules. We just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

Mr. Tannin’s wife said, “Dr. Tallemann, you must be aware that you are very, very beautiful, but you seem so casual about it. It doesn’t seem to be of great importance to you.”

Katherine smiled, “It’s really simple. I have the man I adore. I have a wonderful daughter. I have a career I love. We have wonderful friends. My husband loves me in sloppy jeans and an old sweatshirt.”

“But that isn’t the way your husband first saw you,” the choir director’s husband said.

“Actually, I was gaunt, sleep deprived, a literal wreck,” Katherine said.

“It was love at first sight,” said Gordon. “I didn’t realize how beautiful a woman I fell in love with until a while afterwards. That’s like waking up in paradise, and then have someone come up and tell you instead of sending you back you are in for eternity.”

Gilbert commented, “That’s almost as good as Katherine’s statement that she’s married to the only man she would ever consider running away with.”

“That’s my mom,” said Ceiley. She and Katherine had been standing with their arms around each other.

Everyone started to go toward the cafeteria where the cookies, etceteras had been set up. On their way, Ceiley, Casey, Katherine, Gordon, Shelley and Gilbert picked up Sara and Troy Gunderson and Christina. The three girls led the way. Sara Gunderson said to Katherine, “Ceiley is just like you. She is already showing signs of your beauty, but like you she just kind of shrugs it off.” She then went on, “Chris was telling us one incident. Some boy, that some of the girls think is cool, was trying to make points with Ceiley by telling her how beautiful she was. Chris said Ceiley flipped her head and said, ‘that’s not my fault,’ and turned and walked away. Chris said, ‘Mom, it was so cool the way she did it’.“

Katherine said rather quietly, “I hope she keeps it up.”

They came into the cafeteria and found a table where they, plus a few others could sit. A couple of boys maneuvered their parents to sit down at that table also. After they got some refreshments, they all introduced themselves at the table. Gordon mentioned to one of the couples that he had met their son at his house. The mother laughed, “I remember that, because when Toby came home he seemed off in the clouds. I asked if he had met Ceiley’s parents. He said, ‘Yeah, they’re really nice.’ But he said it in a way as if he was off in his own world. Now it all finally makes sense. I won’t embarrass him by saying why.” Then she gave a light laugh.

Toby’s father then said, “I understand from some of Toby’s friends, who have also been to your house, that you have a definite code of conduct, and that you enforce it strictly.”

“We always figured it would be better to be upfront and let Ceiley’s friends know what was expected of them. Ceiley, Chris and Casey told us they like it that way. We tell them all, if they don’t like our rules, they don’t have to come around any more. So far, we haven’t had any objections, and we haven’t had to banish anyone.”

Sara Gunderson said, “Troy thinks that all the boys have fallen in love with Katherine and they don’t dare step out of line for fear they may be banished.”

There was general laughter among the adults at that. One of the fathers said, “I’d buy that analysis. I remember falling in love with a young teacher in high school, but I never had a teacher like you, Dr. Tallemann.”

His wife just smiled, “I’ve already heard Dr. Tallemann’s remark, that she is already married to the only man she would consider running away with.”

“And she really means it,” said Sara Gunderson.

“How lucky can you get, Gordon,” Troy Gunderson said. Then he turned to Ceiley and asked, “How do you like having two famous best selling authors for parents, Ceiley?”

“I don’t know,” was Ceiley’s answer, “They’ve never acted like that.”

“That’s true,” said Shelley Martin, “Right from the start they have been Katherine and Gordon, our next door neighbors.”

“I understand you both teach college, at different colleges,” was the comment of one of the other mother’s.

Gordon laughed, “They said they couldn’t put up with the two of us at one college. They could only take one of us at a time.”

“They figured that would be promotional overkill,” laughed Dr. Sara Gunderson.

“I noticed they made promotional hay when the two of you arrived,” one of the men commented.

“You noticed who the media took the most pictures of,” said Gordon with a smile.

“That’s because you were so expert at fading into the background whenever there was a camera around,” Katherine accused him.

“I suppose as an espionage agent you avoided getting in pictures like a plague,” Gilbert Martin said.

“Unless your disguise was exceptionally well done, and it wasn’t a disguise you would ever use again.” answered Gordon, “but that would be an extremely rare situation. That is why we scanned photos regularly.”

“Actually I don’t think there would be any question as to who would be photographed,” one of the men said. “There can’t be any doubt as to who would be considered the most photogenic.”

Casey, Christina and Ceiley in unison said, “Me.” Then they giggled.

Several families drifted over to the table, ostensibly to congratulate the girls on a great program. They also were hoping for an introduction to the town’s two best selling authors. Ceiley was happy to introduce her parents to other students and their parents. Gordon tried to file away as many names and faces as he could. Katherine concentrated on the women. Later they would sit down and recall to the other who they had met and try to describe them. They would then try to match husband and wife and children. A number of the parents, including Katherine and Gordon, started to help in the clean up. This done, they all headed for home.

On Thanksgiving, the Martins, the Gundersons and the Dietrichs got together with friends of the Gunderson’s. The couple had a son who was in the same class as the girls. George and Tina Martinez and their son Carlos lived in the same neighborhood as the Gundersons. Thanksgiving was held at the Gunderson’s. The Martinezes were already at the Gunderson’s when the Dietrichs and the Martins arrived. As they came in Carlos told Ceiley, “I warned my dad about your mom. I didn’t want him to be tongue-tied like we all were when we met your mom.”

After he was introduced, George Martinez said with a laugh, “I will have to apologize to my son. When he warned me I thought it was typical teen-age exaggeration. I was wrong. He was right.”

“That’s all right, George,” Sara Gunderson said. “Troy accused me of over exaggerating also.”

“Yes, and that was after I had seen pictures of Katherine,” said Troy. “I thought it was doctored up publicity shots they had used.”

Katherine laughed, “You’re going to make me blush.”

“Oh, you know you don’t take any of this seriously,” said Shelley.

“That’s what makes Katherine so much fun to be with,” Sara said. “She’s so casual about the attention she attracts.”

“But you do dress beautifully,” Tina put in, not really understanding how such a beautiful woman could not take her beauty seriously.

“But everyone dresses the best they can,” Katherine answered. “I’m no different in that than anyone else. At home I dress as sloppy as I want and enjoy it. I dress as casual as possible as often as I can get away with it.”

Sara Gunderson laughed, “She teaches in jeans. She set a new style on campus. It doesn’t make any difference. A lot of the women professors on campus are still jealous of the attention she gets. And, of course, all the male students are in love with her.”

“Does that cause friction in faculty circles?” asked Tena Martinez.

Sara Gunderson thought for a moment. “You have to realize that both Gordon and Katherine are best-selling authors and both have two doctorates from very prestigious universities. The college is not about to lose Dr. Tallemann. Besides, the President’s wife thinks Katherine is absolutely marvelous.”

“In other words, any friction is not allowed to surface,” added Troy Gunderson.

The three girls and Carlos had taken off for the family room. After they left Shelley commented, “Ceiley is as casual about her looks as you are Katherine.” Then she added with a smile, “Of course, when you are going to grow up to look like you, Katherine, you can be casual about your looks.”

“You know when you think about it,” said Tena, “Most of us have to work at it, so most of us make it important. If we didn’t have to work at it at all, it might not be important.”

“Blame it on to the men,” said Katherine. “They’re the culprits.”

”Yes blame it on to us,” said Gordon. “We have broad shoulders.”

Sara Gunderson laughed, “Gordon, you’re as casual about Katherine’s beauty as she is. Most men, with a wife like Katherine, would insist that she always be dressed to accentuate that beauty. You are perfectly happy to have Katherine dress in sloppy jeans and shirt at any time and anyplace she wants.”

Katherine laughed, “He doesn’t look on me as his trophy wife.”

Gordon said, “I wouldn’t dare. She’s got red hair.”

“Oh, Pooh,” said Shelley, “I’ve never seen her lose her temper. As far as Katherine is concerned that idea that anyone with red hair has a volatile temper is a myth.”

Sara Gunderson agreed, “I have never seen her lose her temper, even under circumstances no one would have blamed her if she did. That idea really is a myth. Of course, at the same time, I have never seen anyone push her around either.”

Her husband Troy commented, “You mean it’s steel not fire she uses to accomplish her purpose.”

“And a bit of charm,” added Shelley’s husband Gilbert.

George Martinez said, “I understand from Troy that both of you are also casual about being best-selling authors also.”

“That’s what makes them so much fun to be around,” said Shelley. “They act just like ordinary people.”

“We are,” said Gordon, “People just happen to like what we write.”

Tina Martinez just shook her head. Sara Gunderson had told her this was true. She just wasn’t sure she could believe it. She was a real fan of both Gordon’s and Katherine’s novels and stories. To find them as easy to know as Sara Gunderson had said was amazing to her. Gordon continued, “Don’t get me wrong. We enjoy having our novels be best sellers. It’s really nice having that extra pay check coming in fairly regularly.”

Katherine picked up the thought, “If our new novels, didn’t pan out, we wouldn’t go into a blue funk. And we wouldn’t quit writing. We enjoy writing stories, and we enjoy teaching. That wouldn’t change.”

Sara Gunderson looked at Katherine thoughtfully, “I think you told me that you and Gordon planned to get your doctorates so you could teach. The writing started out as an incidental thing.”

“Actually, it started out with the idea that we might make a little extra money,” Gordon said. “It was something we found we could do without interrupting our schooling. We were lucky and enjoyed some success almost from the start. It kind of just grew from there.”

“I suppose that is why we can be so casual about it,” said Katherine. “It was not suppose to be the important thing in our lives. It never became the tail that wagged the dog. We always considered our teaching careers more important.”

“But you had the background and the ability,” said Shelley.

“Yes, that made it a lot easier,” answered Katherine, “We both had experiences that were easily woven into fiction. Of course, Gordon’s mystique also gave us an entree. I rode in on his coattails at first.”

“I’m sure your publisher didn’t take long to recognize your promotability, Katherine,” George Martinez said.

Katherine laughed, “A lot of people thought that would be true, but Gordon’s background intrigued them first. I might be photogenic, but Gordon could generate a lot of promotional copy. Besides, he is very photogenic and he was an American.”

“So the mystique won out to start with,” said Troy Gunderson.

“But as soon as they found out that Katherine could write, they didn’t lose anytime spreading her picture around,” laughed Gordon.

Shelley turned to Katherine with a questioning look, “Did that hinder your recognition as a very good writer?”

Katherine was thoughtfully silent for a moment. “Not to the extent that it bothered me,” she replied. “It probably allowed me to get away with some things until I had polished my writing ability.”

“Now it’s just an added dimension,” said Gilbert Martin, “A very good writer who is also beautiful and charming.”

“Well thank you Gilbert for the lovely compliment,” said Katherine.

“Compliments are easy when they are also true, aren’t they Gilbert,” Sara said.

Gilbert laughed and simply said, “Real easy.”

Thanksgiving dinner being ready, everyone pitched in to get it on the table. They gathered the teenagers from the family room and all sat down to enjoy the dinner. After dinner everyone again joined in the clean up. Even Ceiley, Casey, Christina and Carlos pitched in. Then they all went out into the yard to join in some games. Katherine and Ceiley introduced them to some from England. After Gordon and Sara Gunderson had won several games, Ceiley said, “Dad you are not suppose to be this good. It’s not fair.”

“That’s life, young lady. You win some you lose some,” Gordon told her with a smile.

“He just isn’t suppose to win so often, especially when it’s a game he isn’t suppose to be familiar with,” commented George Martinez.

Katherine smiled at Gordon, “He’s a quick study,” she quietly said with a certain amount of pride in her voice.

“That’s probably one of the reasons he made it through the war,” said Troy Gunderson.

“Actually I was taught that game as part of my cover,” laughed Gordon. “Some of the time I posed as an Oxford trained professor. But I was an eccentric who was expert in all the local games. Of course I also learned all the local dialects. That was why my ear was tuned to local dialects in other countries.”

“The eccentricity was a cover for strange behavior?” asked George.

“Or did it allow you to turn up in places you weren’t suppose to be?” said Troy.

“Sometimes a little of both, but that could be used only on certain occasions, and not too often,” said Gordon.

Sara Gunderson looked quietly and thoughtfully at Gordon, “You must have been very good at judging when to use it and when not to.”

Gordon smiled, “We had to be good gamblers. We had to know when to hold them and when to fold them. But we were betting our lives on our gambling ability.”

“You say that so casually,” said Shelley, “as if it was just a walk in the park.”

“Shelley, that is the way you had to think of it. Otherwise you ended up a basket case,” said Gordon, then added quickly, “if you lived.”

Katherine was watching Gordon all this time with a quiet smile on her face. “Now you know why I fell in love with him, and pursued him. He was so casual and easy going, while all along you could feel the strength. You soon realized that he was wonderfully organized and completely in control.”

Gordon turned and smiled at Katherine. “Until you came along, dear,” he said.

“You did let your mask slip just a fraction,” said Katherine. “But not for very long.”

Sara raised her eyebrows just a fraction. “You met Gordon during the war, not after it?” she asked, “You never let that slip before.”

“I complicated his job by a stupid mistake that put Ceiley and I in jeopardy. Gordon not only calmly worked around me, but in the process rescued us.” said Katherine.

“Before you get the idea that I was doing something heroic, let me explain that to complete what I set out to do, it was necessary to remove them from harm’s way. It was just a necessary part of the job. They were now on my hands. I realized that Katherine’s presence could help me, as long as she did what I told her to do. As a result, in the process, I fell in love with her.”

Katherine continued the story, “I really didn’t know what he intended, when he came on the scene. I thought I just moved from the frying pan into the fire. I was afraid not to do what he told me to do. Then it occurred to me as things progressed, that he was being the perfect gentleman. He had removed Ceiley to safety. When he finished what he had to do, he arranged for me to join Ceiley. We were free to go.”

“Did Gordon tell you his real name?” asked Troy.

Gordon answered, “Yes, I did. It was a calculated risk. I wanted her complete cooperation. I had to have it immediately. I wanted her to trust me. I figured if I gave her my real name and then made sure she knew I was taking a big risk, I would have a better chance of getting that cooperation.”

“He was sneaky and I fell for it. Then when I began to realize what a chance he had taken, and what a gentleman he was being, I fell completely and madly in love with him.” Katherine smiled quietly in remembrance, “He even warned me that I would be taking a big gamble. He might never come back. I told him if he could gamble, so could I.”

“I think I was reading between the lines, because I was having chills running up and down my spine as you were so casually talking,” said Sara.

“That’s funny,” Gilbert spoke up, “so was I.”

Tena was starry-eyed, “I think that was the most wonderful real life love story I have ever heard.”

“And they lived happily ever afterward,” added her husband George.

Everyone started laughing and that broke up the serious conversation.

Then George asked, “What brought you here, rather than New York or California. I understand you were already best selling authors by the time your were ready to settle in the United States.”

“Neither of us cared for big cities, at least not in which to settle permanently,” Gordon said. “Also we were looking for places we both could teach at good colleges.”

“Gordon doesn’t say it, but he knew I could never live a somewhat normal life in places like that. He automatically ruled that option out,” Katherine said quietly.

“You mean the decision was made for your benefit,” said Shelley.

“Not entirely,” said Gordon firmly. “I would prefer to disappear into the hinterlands, in a nice quiet spot.”

Troy Gunderson looked at Gordon thoughtfully, “You mean they really don’t want you to leave it behind.”

“I suppose not when you have been very good at it,” added George.

“Out of sight, out of mind sometimes works,” said Sara. Then she added slowly, “But the two of you can never really be out of sight, can you?”

Gordon laughed. “Yes and no, and don’t ask me to explain the nuances in that answer.”

Katherine gave a partial explanation, “Most of them don’t read Gordon’s type of books. Intrigue and mystery novels are pure fiction, in their eyes.”

“What the two of you are saying, is that as long as you aren’t physically visible, you can be at least partially out of mind,” said Gilbert Martin.

“That is why, if you work it right, you can get lost in a crowd,” said Gordon.

“At which you are undoubtedly an expert,” said Tena Martinez. She had been rather quietly and thoughtfully listening to the conversation.

“Thank you, Tena for your vote of confidence,” Gordon told her with a smile.

“You’re teasing me,” Tena protested, but she smiled brightly.

“Actually,” said Gordon, “There is no real possibility that I would be asked to come back in. I have had too much public exposure. I would be a very bad risk. My face has become too well known. However, if I am far from the bright lights, the temptation to confer with me is greatly lessened. I deliberately put my self out of the mainstream.”

“That way both you and Katherine can live relatively normal lives.” observed Shelley.

Katherine laughed, “We really do live normal lives. We teach. We write. Occasionally we go on a book promotional tour. That’s our business travel. It’s really not much different than other people in dual career situations. Perhaps we get more media exposure.”

“You do try to keep that at as low a level as you can, don’t you,” said Shelley.

With a small smile on his face, Gordon said, “Sometimes we are more successful than others. The secret is to keep Katherine out of their sight.”

“Thanks dear,” Katherine said rather pointedly, “Blame it on to me.”

“I wasn’t blaming you, dear,” Gordon said as he gave her a hug, “It’s just that you are so damn beautiful.”

“You married me. You knew what you were getting yourself into.”

“I just couldn’t help myself. I was totally captivated.”

The rest laughed at this light hearted, and slightly flippant exchange between the two of them.

It was a pleasant Thanksgiving for everyone. Even the teen-agers enjoyed it. The four of them pretty much entertained themselves. The girls found things to do in which they could include Carlos. It was evening before they all started for their own houses. As Gordon drove home, he noticed an unfamiliar car parked on their street. It drove off shortly after they returned home. It must have been somebody visiting one of their neighbors, he thought. In the back of his mind, he was bothered by the fact that two men were sitting in the car. He filed it away and temporarily forgot about it.

With the start of the Holiday season, there began a round of parties at the colleges. Both colleges had things going on built around the season. Of course the high school choir put on a Christmas concert.

When Gordon, Katherine and Ceiley were coming home at night after the concert, Gordon thought he saw the same car again parked on their street. He decided to put a call out to his friends. Perhaps he was being unduly suspicious. It wouldn’t hurt to check. He didn’t see the car again for the next few days so he decided to put off checking until after the holidays. That might have proved a very big mistake, but one of his friends contacted him. He was able to make arrangements to make sure Katherine and Ceiley would be safe, then he left town. When asked, Katherine said Gordon’s publisher had called and asked him to come to New York.

Gordon got back two days before Christmas. He seemed much more relaxed, but said nothing about his trip. He gave Katherine a broad smile and a hug and a kiss, Ceiley a hug and a kiss. Katherine decided not to question him yet. They went about finishing the business of getting ready for Christmas. Christmas Eve morning, Gordon got a phone call. He again quietly disappeared. The note he left Katherine