Paul dutifully filled out the forms as best he could, though they looked really funny with just The Can Man penned in for a name, and The Woods Near Elkins Grove as an address. He put the forms back on the counter at the nurse’s station, but she ignored both him and them. Then he returned to continue the awkward talk with Meg. They were both preoccupied, of course. There was no way to ignore the environs—not with those bright fluorescent lights humming into your eyes; not with that medicine and rubbing-alcohol smell reminding you where you were. A half hour dragged by as they talked and thumbed through the different magazines lying around the waiting room. Meg was paging through a big thing called Special Report: Fiction and Paul was checking out a Car and Driver. Paul looked over at her. “I bet you’ve had better first dates, huh?” “I don’t mind.” That smile again. Wonderful. “Hey.
