the men on the porch wearing their crowns of flame . to my utter astonishment , my mouth went dry . the blankets were soft and heavy . her fingers were clutched in his jacket , and she did n't fight him at all . we talked as we had never talked before . the general manager asked them all to end the meeting and move to the hotel . i had done that once upon a time with her , and in some ways , we were still dealing with that choice . 