Title: 'HE WAS HERE'

Waiting alone in the frost-blue frock he had so often praised, with the sweet orchard smell wafting in from outside, the twice-jilted Juliet thought once more of Long John, the mysterious stranger with the large dog. He was now, according to Countess Genevieve, in the clutches of Cesar Marquez and his gang of cutthroats.

Then came an eerie chill of premonition, and she realized, in a single instant, what was now to happen. He was here! “I couldn’t stay away, sweetheart!” he stammered, pressing his lips to hers, and as it dawned on her that her days of loneliness were over, she wordlessly let her body melt against his own.