“Bill Walker,” she said.

　　He stopped. At first he did not recognize her, to him she looked so old.

　　“Mary! Where did you come from?”

　　Unconsciously, she lifted her face as though wanting a kiss, but he held out his hand. She took it.

　　“I live in New York now,” she said.

　　“Oh,—Smiling politely, then a little frown came quickly between his eyes.

　　“Always wondered what happened to you, Bill.”

　　“I’m a lawyer. Nice firm, way downtown.”

　　“Married yet?”

　　“Sure. Two kids.”

　　“Oh,” she said.

　　A great many people went past them through the park. People they didn’t know. It was late afternoon. Nearly sunset. Cold.

　　“And your husband?” he asked her.

　　“We have three children. I work in the bursar’s office at Columbia.”

　　“You are looking very…” (he wanted to say old) “…well,” he said.

　　She understood. Under the trees in

　　“We live on Central Park West,” she said. “Come and see us sometime.”

　　“Sure,” he replied. “You and your husband must have dinner with my family some night. Any night. Lucille and I’d love to have you.”

　　The leaves fell slowly from the tree in the Square. Fell without wind. Autumn dusk. She felt a little sick.

　　“We’d love it,” she answered.

　　“You ought to see my kids.” He grinned.

　　Suddenly the lights came on up the whole length of

　　“There’s my bus,” she said.

　　He held out his hand. “Goodbye.”

　　“When…”, she wanted to say, but the bus was ready to pull off. The lights on the avenue blurred, twinkled, blurred. And she was afraid to open her mouth as she entered the bus. Afraid it would be impossible to utter a word.

　　Suddenly she shrieked very loudly, “Good-bye!” But the bus door had closed.

　　The bus started. People came between them outside, people crossing the street, people they didn’t know. Space and people. She lost sight of Bill. Then she remembered she had forgotten to give him her address—or to ask him for his—or tell him that her youngest boy was named Bill, too.

　　3. Handshaking is used to greet another and to “seal” a contract or a promise. Most handshaking is right-handed, and this may come from an age when everybody carried weapons. Shaking right hands, that is, joining dominant hands could be a demonstration that neither party was with a weapon in his hand, or about to use a weapon, a sign of peace. It was a way of saying “I mean you no immediate violence, if you can show that your intention is the same.

　　4. This interpretation would also explain why, until quite recently, it was chiefly males who practiced handshaking, and why a man should not shake hands with a woman unless the woman extended her hand first. A man’s offering his hand to a woman would carry the offensive implication that the “gentler sex” too could be dangerous. It is now acceptable for American women to shake hands and even to do so firmly.