spend it?" Megan grinned. "Well, I really just found out a minute ago. But actually... you promise not to laugh?" Her friend crossed her hands over her modest chest and nodded solemnly. "Cross my heart and hope to die." "Okay, well, Todd and I have been officially dating for one year, as of tonight. And I think tonight he might finally be ready to pop the question. He kept asking if I was going to come straight to the apartment after work, or work overtime again. I just know he's planning something for our anniversary." She took the check from Lois and lovingly ran her hand over it. "This might go a long way to paying off a wedding, don't you think?" Lois grinned, and hugged her. "Hey, I should be finished with my paperwork by the end of the day; why don't I just transcribe your last reports. That way you can leave at five o'clock for once? You and Todd can have a whole evening to yourselves." "I don't know; I told him not to expect me before eight, at the earliest. That's a lot of extra work for you to pick up..." Megan bit her lip, then finally nodded. Lois beamed, "Hey, it's the least I can do for my best friend." The two women hugged again, and soon returned to their work as the crowded office floor buzzed with early morning activity all about them. *** Thank god for Lois, Megan thought, as she pulled out of the parking garage. She was leaving work on time for the first time in nearly a month. As she waited at a stop light, she checked out her reflection in the rearview mirror. "Hmm...I wonder if I should stop by the salon first? If Todd really is going to propose tonight, I should look my best." Megan Barrows wasn't an ugly woman by any means, but she knew her chestnut-colored hair was her best feature, and the ladies at the salon always made her look great. Well, as great as a flat-chested, 95 pound girl can look, she thought, sourly. Megan glanced down at her waifish figure, and sighed. In her mind, she could hear Lois's voice, telling her to stop being so insecure, and chuckled wryly to herself. "Get a grip, Meg," she said to her reflection, as the light turned green at last. "The love of your life is about to propose to you, and you're still worried about your looks!" She imagined Todd's face, looking up at her from his knees, a ring in his hand, and sighed contentedly as her anxieties slowly evaporated. Stealing another quick glimpse at her reflection, she added to herself, "Of course, it wouldn't hurt to get my hair done anyway...." *** The salon visit took just over an hour, and the early autumn sun was low in the sky as Megan finally turned onto her boyfriend's street. His apartment was at the end of a long line of duplexes, a small house with a redbrick facade facing the street. She was