1978 had been a pretty good year so far, Dolly thought to herself as she arrived in Miami. Hopefully, it would be getting even better soon. It was a unseasonably cool October afternoon, making her wish she’d brought a coat when she stepped off the plane.

In an hour she would be meeting a man that she knew only from letters and pictures. His name was Ricky and he was the cousin of her best friend, China.

In no time, Dolly was parking her rental car outside Ricky’s house. She’d followed the address exactly as he’d given it to her, copying the directions on the last page of Love in the Time of Cholera, the only thing she had lying near the phone when he called.

As she walked up the paved drive, she hummed “Let it Be” softly under her breath. The seven gold bangles on her wrist jingled merrily. She sure hoped Ricky was a family guy because she wanted lots of kids someday. She hoped he liked literature, too, because she loved to read. These were the thoughts floating in Dolly’s head as she rang the doorbell.