Waiting alone in the midst of her uncle’s grotesque curios, with the barbarian cries of the frolicking children wafting in from outside, the twice-jilted Hank thought once more of the fearless Lex, the man who had taught her how to feel. He was now, according to three independent witnesses, the hapless captive of mind-devouring space aliens.
   At long last came a sudden commotion, heavy footsteps in the hall, and she realized, in a single instant, what was now to happen. He was here! “There’s only ever been you, my Oriental pearl!” he husked.
   Suddenly, he dabbed at her tears with the handkerchief she herself had made for him, and as he dabbed at her tears with the handkerchief she herself had made for him, she at last understood that for the two of them, life was only now really beginning.