“Kind of second nature?”
“Yes, second nature. I don’t know just why I did think you were from New York. Your clothes, or perhaps the way you talk. Or the way you know how to take care of yourself.”
“How can you tell anything about that?”
“Oh, that’s easy. A man can always tell. You can take care of yourself.”
She blushes and remembers that she is all alone on this train.
“Well,” slightly raising your voice, “I do like New York. It looks pretty good when you’ve been out in the sticks for a couple of months.”
“I’ll bet it does.”
“Yes, there’s no place like New York for shows. I wouldn’t like to live there, but it’s a good place to visit. My—my mother used to live there, and I never could see how she stood it as long as she did.”
She answers with animation. “Oh, but the little towns get so dull! There just isn’t anything to do out in the country.”
“Nothing to do? Why, gee, what’s the matter with fishing? Two weeks a year isn’t enough fishing for me!”