When Kit came in from work the next afternoon, arms laden with the historic newspapers, Charlie was in the living room wearing a big grin and an air of expectation. "Howdy, Squirt!" he greeted her. "How's your head?"

"A lot better than Mr. Gibson's," Kit answered honestly. "But I'd really love not to listen to any more typewriters for a while." She dropped the newspapers at the bottom of the stairs and started to head up - she wanted to lay down for a little while before dinner.

"Hold it, short stuff," Charlie called after her. "We had a deal, remember?" Kit sighed, and shuffled back down the stairs with resignation. "Have a seat. There you go." His trademark grin faded to a more serious expression as he fired his opening volley. "Stirling Howard."

"Stirling," Kit repeated, holding out her hands. "As you may have guessed, we… we aren't friends anymore."

"Well, what happened?" Charlie asked. "You didn't mention this in any of your letters. You, he, and Ruthie were three peas in a pod, back in the day."

"I ran into him, about a year ago," Kit explained. "See, they moved away the same year you joined the Army, and I didn't really see him much after that. But, last summer he came into the Register with an editorial cartoon that he'd drawn."

"So he did become an artist, then." Charlie looked pleased. "I remember he always liked to draw. I still have a few copies of your Hard Times News around here somewhere."

"Yeah, he works for a firm downtown. At least, last I heard, that's what he was doing. They do government contract work - you know the Hitler Chicken?"

"That was Stirling?" Charlie let out a whistle.

"That was him. He was 4-F, so he missed the war, but he wanted to do something, you know? Like a lot of us."

"Sure. So he came into the register…" Charlie prompted..

"Right, and at first it was like nothing had changed. But then, of course, I had to tell him about Roger."

"I have to admit, Squirt," Charlie said, ignoring Kit's glare, "that we were all a little surprised at that one. Wasn't Roger a bit of a bully, back in the day?"

"People change, Charlie," Kit insisted. "You know they do. Roger even wrote Stirling a letter - I don't know exactly what it said, but I gathered that it was an apology of sorts."

"And was that good enough for Stirling?"

"I don't know, and I don't care," Kit declared. "Stirling Howard's not the boss of my love life."

"So, you two had a fight," Charlie deduced. "About Roger."

"Not then and there," Kit admitted. "We sort of settled into an uneasy truce on that subject. But, I'd see him about once a week - strictly as an old-friends-catching-up sort of thing, mind you. As long as he didn't mention Roger, or his disbelief that I was actually going to marry Mr. Turkeypants -"

A confused look crossed Charlie's face. "Turkeypants?"

Kit had forgotten that the three of them had vowed to keep the Thanksgiving incident silent. Oh well, not that it mattered now. "An old nickname of Stirling's. For Roger, I mean. As long as he didn't mention Roger, I liked being around him."

"And you loved him?"

"Stirling?"

"Roger," Charlie corrected. "You know, in all your letters, you didn't have very much to say on that subject."

"I did love him," Kit insisted. "I did. I won't deny that."

"But?" Charlie prompted.

"But…" Kit considered this point. "I think that my agreement to marry him was somewhat motivated by patriotic zeal. He did look awfully good in his uniform. I don't think I had given much thought to what would happen after the war."

"So, where does Stirling Howard fit into all of this?" Charlie went on. "What could he have done that would make you go pale as a sheet when I mentioned his name last night?"

"It was when I got the telegram," Kit said quietly. "About Roger."

"Right." It was on Charlie's lips to say I'm sorry, but as per their agreement, he refrained.

"Someone telephoned Stirling - it was probably Mother, now that I think about it," Kit mused. "And he came to offer his regrets. Not right away - maybe a week later. I'd finally stopped crying by the time he came around, although I'm sure I looked a fright."

"And Stirling… insulted you horribly by giving you his condolences?"

"It wasn't so much what he said, it was how he said it. Almost like he wasn't sorry at all. Almost like he was thinking, Now that Turkeypants is out of my way I can take my chance."

"But he didn't say any of this, did he?" Charlie pressed. "Have you thought that maybe your perception of that day may be a little… off? Grief makes us do strange things, sometimes."

"But, Charlie," Kit defended herself, "I've known Stirling Howard for a long time. And I could tell what he was thinking."

"Which was what?"

"That he was in love with me."

Charlie's eyes widened in mock horror. "That is serious."

"Charlie, don't make fun."

"I'm sorry, Kit, truly I am. Maybe there's something I'm not seeing. What if he was in love with you? What's so terrible about that?"

"Well," Kit faltered, "the timing was terrible."

"Why's that?" Charlie continued. "He didn't try to kiss you, did he?"

"Of course not," Kit responded promptly. "I'd have socked him in the nose if he did."

"You would, too," Charlie grinned. "So, Stirling Howard committed the unpardonable sin of falling in love with Kit - Margaret Kittredge. Maybe. Only he didn't do anything to show it."

"I don't know for sure," Kit realized. "But I suspected. And, well… we quarreled. And I told him I never wanted to see him again.."

"Ouch." Charlie cringed. "You didn't."

"I did," Kit said miserably. "And maybe I didn't mean it, but I can't go back on it now. Sure, I miss our friendship, but… but it never would have been the same, anyway. I would have always been wondering."

"And what if he was? What if he did love you?"

"I wanted him as a friend, not a lover."

"But that's hardly Stirling's fault, is it?"

"You think it's ridiculous, don't you?"

"Not at all, kid sister. Look," he said. "Maybe I'm not qualified to give love advice -"

"As if that would stop you," Kit teased.

"Har." Charlie smirked. "The thing is, opportunities for love don't come along every day. All I know is, I wouldn't turn down the chance if I got it."