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up the path behind the house, past the well, past the barn, and up the incline toward the end of his property, which was fenced. He let people graze cattle there in return for fresh vegetables he put up each year and beef for his freezer. Linda Thomas's dress flowed softly in the breeze and her hair brushed about her face as she took Robert's hand to help her up the incline in heels. Robert as Lola many times had climbed this incline in skirts and knew the delight and wonder of wind in his long hair and his skirts swirling about his legs. Robert knew and understood womanhood, being a woman himself, yet still very much a man. It was this paradox that Linda Thomas recognized in Ro- bert his male self was certain, but there was a total softness, gracefulness, and a hint of total femininity, even in his picture on his living room wall in his cap- tain's uniform, about Robert Judd. Robert was smoking a large bowl, curved pipe and the smoke curled up and vanished in the pure, clean mountain air. Linda Thomas wanted Robert to put his arm around her, but she sensed that this decent man was not only shy in a way, but not like any other man she had ever known. He talked to her and considered her as a person, as an individual, and his soft blue eyes settled on her as a total vision of loveliness as he told her soft- ly how beautiful she was to him. As they talked, time slipped past un-noticed, quickly, like the first shadows of the ending day bounced on the mountains and the air grew more chilled and the birds chirped louder as their day ended. A deer appeared to their left, followed by another, then

they lept away out of sight..

They made their way back down the hill seeing Robert Judd's roof and chimney below, then the second story, and then the whole house came into view. It had not occured to Linda Thomas that there were four bedrooms in the house, nor had she noticed the lipstick and pow- der in the first floor bath as they were inside the wall cabinet. She did notice the many full length mirrors, and she enjoyed seeing herself in them, as she was proud of her slender figure, her pretty dress, and her hair, and she liked being pretty, feeling pretty, and she so enjoyed being a most feminine woman. Yet, she was well educated, had a master's degree in education, and taught at the local highschool before taking the sales job. She was a good sales person, and Robert had helped her get started. Back in the house, Robert Judd began to make magic in the kitchen. Linda Thomas set the table, in- cluding the wine glasses, though she did not drink much at all, she did enjoy wine with dinner. Also, Linda Thomas did not smoke as she felt it was not lady- like. Robert Judd only smoked a pipe, and Lola had small, slender pipes like European women smoke. Robert Judd's home was furnished mostly in family an- tiques from his parents who died when he was 18 in a train acci- dent, leaving him well off, but lonely and grieved. His mother had known about Lola and had tried to help Lola, but that was kept from his father. Many of the furnishing came from his grandparents on both his parent's sides, and his library was full of three generations of book col- lecting, plus his hown literary

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interests. Robert Judd finished college and went to war, then came back, and in another town further south in the Valley of Virginia began his sales work. Even then, he often sold to wo-

men customers as Lola, and that was when he first obtained an airplane. He moved away after the last woman had refused to marry him due to his honesty about revealing Lola, not in her sight, but in words alone. Now, dear skirt wearers, it was going to be soon that Robert Judd would have to tell Linda Thomas about Lola. He would not do it that weekend, but for sure with- in a few days as the woman was begining to like him very much and he was falling fast into her grace. After a gourmet supper, Robert Judd said he would wash if she would dry, and for some reason Linda Thomas took a frilly apron and tied it around Robert Judd's slender waist. It had a deep ruffle and tied in a pretty bow, and Linda Thomas could not help feel that Robert looked cute in the apron. She had noticed his smooth, totally free of hair or beard shadow face his longer nails, his bountiful hair on his head, and his soft move- ments and poise. There was something she sensed about this decent man that was like herself in some way she could not at once understand, yet she felt as if her femininity was somehow like the reality and personality of Robert, only she told herself that was foolish. Yet, as she dried dishes, she felt very close to Robert Judd, not knowing just why. They sat back to enjoy a fire in the living room fire place and Robert Judd's extensive col- lection of classical music. Robert sat down in his chair as Linda