Once back on campus, Valerie pushed herself and her graduate assistants, stopping only to sleep, eat, and shower. She was at the university almost twenty hours straight both days. All this work had to be started before she left for India.
The air had turned crisp and cool; she loved the fall. Gainesville was far enough north in Florida to get a real fall. Being on campus with bright orange and yellow leaves scudding across the green lawns made her feel peaceful and at home.
She was in her little duplex apartment, packing, just before two. She heard Vince Slocum, her number one graduate assistant, pull up in the driveway, his Mustang rumbling. He was going to drive her down to Orlando to catch her seven o’clock flight to New York’s La Guardia Airport.
She rolled up socks into her three p
