Beginning of Essay
After my first evening at Pine Vale, I decided I'd never tell Howard Finley my name. I was sitting on a stone bench under the evergreens in the darkening twilight, inspecting the piece of wood that I'd been carving. It was going to be a dog--maybe a German shephe ....

Middle of Essay
.... I remembered the smoke warm and biting; then I remembered it menthol-cool. Where the second person came from, I'm not certain. I was surprised to hear Howard's voice, strong and clear from across the driveway. "I know you, Roy Best," he said. "I know about you and Mary. You want to take her away from me." Roy was a short man who walked with the help of a cane. I'd seen him during the afternoon, sitting in the lounge, talking to the prettiest woman in Pine Vale. "You never even talk to her," Roy said. "Not once in all the years we've been here." "I--I will. And until I do, I don't want you interfering." "She's not your pr ....