Атлант расправил плечи

           "Yousee,whenIgotthejobinthedimestore,Icouldhavemovedtoabetterroom,"shesaidtothesobsister,inapology,"butIdon’tthinkitmattersmuchwhereyousleepatnight,soIsavedmymoney,becauseI’llneeditforsomethingimportantinthefuture—"

           Shestoppedandsmiled,shakingherheaddazedly."IthoughtI’dneedit,"shesaid.

           "Youlookfine,"saidthesobsister."Youcan’tseemuchinthatallegedmirror,butyou’reokay."

           "Thewayallthishappened,I...Ihaven’thadtimetocatchupwithmyself.Butyousee,Jimiswonderful.Hedoesn’tmindit,thatI’monlyasalesgirlfromadimestore,livinginaplacelikethis.Hedoesn’tholditagainstme."

           "Uh-huh,"saidthesobsister;herfacelookedgrim.

           CherrylrememberedthewonderofthefirsttimeJimTaggarthadcomehere.Hehadcomeoneevening,withoutwarning,amonthaftertheirfirstmeeting,whenshehadgivenuphopeofeverseeinghimagain.Shehadbeenmiserablyembarrassed,shehadfeltasifsheweretryingtoholdasunrisewithinthespaceofamudpuddle—butJimhadsmiled,sittingonheronlychair,lookingatherflushedfaceandatherroom.Thenhehadtoldhertoputonhercoat,andhehadtakenhertodinneratthemostexpensiverestaurantinthecity.

           Hehadsmiledatheruncertainty,atherawkwardness,atherterrorofpickingthewrongfork,andatthelookofenchantmentinhereyes.