Jane would be grateful if the subject of fathers never came up. Her mother had left when she was too young to remember, so she and her dad had been on their own. They were two peas in a pod, and as close as any father and daughter could be. He had passed away just after she got her undergraduate degree, and she still missed him every day.

Jane ordered several different sushi rolls and a salad, just so they would get their first courses at the same time. She knew the waitress was the daughter of the chef who was working at the restaurant only because she needed the money for school. She was a decent enough waitress, but preferred spending her time alone, reading. Jane always left her the biggest tip she could afford.

"I was about to say that I can't believe we never ran into one another before today, if you're really at the planetarium all the time. I take the train to one upstate where you can see a lot more than here. I just got back from spending the summer in New Mexico, actually. Now that is where you want to go to observe. I had to come back to use the university's computers to crunch all the data I gathered, though. They have the best in the country." She was talking about herself too much. She blushed and took a sip of her water.

"Sorry, I tend to babble when I'm nervous."