One night she did admit to Pat that her marriage to Jim was not what she had dreamed it would be. Slowly, haltingly she recounted the reasons reluctantly, wanting to find excuses for Jim while she talked.

"I...I think I've tried," she finished humbly, puzzled at her own defensiveness, feeling disloyal to Jim. Yet she felt better for having confided in the sympathetic girl.

Pat's eyes were patient and understanding as she touched Hazel's arm. "I'm sure you have, my dear," she said. "I think you've made him a good wife, as far as he's allowed you to." She looked away to the rim of hills outside the window. "Better than he deserves," she muttered almost under her breath.

Lately Pat had seemed protective as well as sympathetic and Hazel had come to depend on seeing her every day. What fun it was to listen to her talk of her travels, or of the books she had read. Sometimes they would sit in silent companionship, listening to Pat's collection of classical records. ith Pat, in her comfortable slacks and shirt, sitting across the room from her, Hazel felt an odd sense of completion. The big girl's eyes were understanding, so eager and...and tender. Without realizing how it had come about, Hazel found herself wishing that Pat would stay in the little apartment with her always. And in her dreams, when something inknown frightened her, it was Pat who held her close and reassured her, not Jim.

Now that the letter had come, Hazel knew it would be hard to tell Pat she was leaving to be with him. What she would. n't...couldn't tell her was that if Jim would agree, she would stay in San Diego, and find work there. It was the only way left to salvage their marriage, she knew that now. Only last night, saying goodnight at the apartment, she had sensed the trembling urgency struggling for release in Pat. And the answering response in her own blood had left her weak and filled with longing. Not by any word between them, but by something electric and unspoken.

Although it would hurt both of them, she knew she must go to Jim, severing the sweet companionship that was becoming increasingly dear to her. The association that was