"Hi, I'm Dorothy." She offered her hand, wrinkled and pale, from the next table over. He took it. "Uh, hi. Adam."

"I knew an Adam once. Saved my life."

"Really?"

"Swear to God." Dorothy put a hand over her heart. "We were crossing the Himalayas after the avalanche — the roads were out, see, and the pass was the safest way—"

"You couldn't just wait?"

"Not if we wanted to get penicillin to the dying folks over there."

"Shit."

"And vomit and blood. But enough about symptoms. So we're hauling this sledge over the rubble—"

A reflective-vested construction worker leaned over from the counter. "You were pulling it by hand?"

"The only horse was on the other side, so it was pull by hand or give up. Now, we're lowering it down the slope when a rope snaps..." Five minutes later, the entire restaurant was listening silently. "...and I'll never forget him. Still send him Christmas cards, actually."

Silence reigned in the restaurant. A server cleared her throat. "Do you know any stories about a Cassie?"

"Does Cassandra count? Then, by God, I knew a Cassandra. Possibly the smartest woman I ever knew...." The restaurant leaned in for another story.