Close William Preston Asimovs Science Fiction February 2007 That night a turtlish car crept into the parking lot of the former St. Judes School fifteenminutes after every other passed more than a dozen vehicles huddled in regions of brightnessthen backed into the dimmest corner against the narrow band of woods. Crows riotously packingthe high branches briefly lifted off and raised even more argument then set-tled back to theirordinary din. Elbow on the open window Ed Lukens breathed clouds as he surveyed the other cars. Some hadgathered under the tall helmeted lamp in the lots middle the rest in the first row of slotsby the one-story brick building faced the few bright curtained windows and the regularlyspaced floods. Hed kept the ignition key partly turned the dashboard clock read 7:20. Choosing what to wearhad taken too long what with his mother out for the evening with his married sister. The partin his flat brown hair hadnt fallen correctly so hed simply combed his hair forward whereit troubled his brow. Then thered been that wrong turn his brains autopilot taking himinitially toward work rather than here. He twisted his face into an imitation ofdisappointment though once the expression was in place he felt himself sinking into despair.During mass two weeks ago in the middle of the sermon his sister had dropped the churchbulletin into his lap and with one red-nailed finger tapped twice sharply at a notice. Does meeting new people make you uncomfortable Does small talk make you anxious Afraid toget out of the house for new experiences Through the rest of the service hed imagined everyone in the congre-gation reading