Breaking away, Penny raced ahead of him, along the beach to the suspension bridge. She was halfway across when he overtook her, rocking it so violently that she had to cling to him for support.
“Stop that, Jerry Livingston! You’ll break the bridge!”
“Then don’t try to run away from me. Will you let me show you the moon?”
“No, I know you, Jerry. You show it to all the girls.”
“If I do, it’s just as a rehearsal. You see, Penny, I’ve hoped that someday I might get a chance to show it to you.”
“What a line you have,” laughed Penny. “But I won’t play. As a moon-shower your technique is terrible. Better practice some more.”
Jerry chuckled and slipping his hand in hers, led her on across the bridge.
“If you won’t look at the moon,” he said, “then take a squint at Old Man River.”
“I believe I prefer the moon after all,” Penny returned, raising her eyes to the disc of light sailing serenely through the star-pricked sky. “It is beautiful.”
Her reverie was broken by Jerry’s voice. His hand tightened on her own.