"Lola? This is Marshall."

"Hello, Mr. Marshall. Do you need a car?"

"Yes, as soon as you can."

"Ten to fifteen."

"That sounds good. Thanks."

I hung up and went over to my employer. She had seated herself on the battered and painted wooden piling that lay across the base of the bridge. This was where Ron sat every day, waiting for the mail truck. Due to my employer's impatience, however, we were there very early in the morning, far earlier than even someone as dedicated as Ron would have shown up to wait for a mail delivery.

The pay phone I always used was one of the few working ones in U-town. We relied on it from time to time, so someone we knew came and checked it once a week to make sure it was in good working order. He owned a small store now, but he had once worked for the telephone company.

"Ten to fifteen minutes," I said as I sat down. She was holding a cigarette and looking at me pointedly over her glasses, so I lit it for her.

"This may not work out, you know." I said after a moment.

Her lips twitched into a momentary smile. "You think it's bogus?"

"Oh, no," I said. "To tell you the truth, that possibility hadn't even occurred to me. I meant that it may not end up making sense. Time and money, advantages and disadvantages, that sort of thing."

"I know. But I'll bet it does, especially if we can set it up to do more than one school."

I started to imagine what it would be like to go on a lecture tour.

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