The Seattle weather was gloomy--clouds scummed low above the brackish sea that tossed and wracked against the pilings of the pier.

But Rachael's smile was sunny as she walked along the wharf. "C'mon guys!" she said, beckoning with her small, thick arm. "Let's go check it out!"

With forty dollars in the back pocket of her flared khaki capris, Rachael was ready for anything. But rain.

"Bummer, man" she said, "But no matter! Let's head inside!"

The Rusty Scupper was the type of place frequented by mariner types--throwbacks to an era where razors were knives and the mirror you shaved before was the glinting tin of a shipboard toaster. It smelled vaguely of beer, the iron tang of fish blood, and the heavy odor of lived-in bodies: all along the slim bar that ran the length of the dingy, pub-brawl place, the mariners sat moored below cups of sour coffee. It was early in the day, but the ashtrays were full. The man behind the counter looked up from the wet rag he was rubbing in slow circles to see Rachael.

"Well, Hello there, what can I offer?"

"I'll have a plate of the haddock," Rachael said. But she turned from him. She turned from him as women have always turned from him.

She turned from him to the absent friend, standing invisible beside her, and stage-whispered:

"At $7.50 for a plate of the freshest fish you can find, this place is a deal! With 32.50 left in the bank, I can afford to grab a glass of their ice-cold lemonade."

The men watched her, as she sat on the stool by the door, pretending to watch the scene outside the Scupper's plate glass window, but really watching the faces of the other men in the mirrored reflection behind the bar.

When the Haddock arrived it was a painting of oil. Silvery, grey fishes glinting on the bed of a blank paper plate. Rachael sighed. She turned toward the absent friend and said:

"This looks GREAT!" With subtle, flashing movements of her knife, she cut a chunk of fish, held it aloft on her fork, looked at it for a long pause, shoved it into her mouth, chewed pensively for a two-second pause, and said, facing no one:

"THIS IS ABSOLUTELY GREAT. DIVINE!" She smiled, her mouth full, her eyes bright as the eyes of a baby fawn.