" Well let talk about that tomorrow, will you pick me up again? and please bring your mother along."
"My mother? why, she is in her sixties, I don't think she would care to hear about sex and love."
"Bring her any way."
He drove off, and I went with Timothy to my room, we sat down and began talking.
"Miriam spoke to me at the airport this afternoon," I said.
"Yes, I know, do you think she is a nice girl?"
"She certainly is, and very beautiful too."
"Do you think it would be good for me to marry her?"
"Do you think you can get her to marry you?"
"That is the point, I know she had her doubts about whether we fit together."
"Did she tell you why she hesitated?"
"No, we talk very little, but I imagine what it is, I am half an inch shorter than she is and also quite a bit darker."
"Is that a disadvantage to be darker?"
"Yes, we think it's more beautiful to be lighter."
"Well, Miriam did not mention that."
"What did she say?"
"I wish that you would ask her your self."
"But, pastor,we can not talk about these things, I think Miriam want you to tell me, that is why she arranged this meeting."
"I know, still it will  be better if she tell you her self because in this way you could learn one thing which is indispensable for marriage, that is sharing."
He was silent.
"How old are you?"
"Twenty two."
"Do you know how old is Miriam is?"
"No she never told me."
"How much does she earn?"
"I never ask her,  I left school after I finished the eight grade, then I join the army."
"What plans do you have now?"
"What do you mean _ plans?
"Well what are you looking forward to? what are your hopes for the future?"
"Nothing special,  after a few years, I may become a sergeant, I don't know what else to say."
"But Timothy, Miriam had high education, she earns more than you do and she is also a year older than you."
 "Is that so?" he thoughtfully,   "But we are these impediments to marriage?"
"Normally not, I could think of bigger ones."
"So you think our marriage could succeed?"
"It could succeed, but not easily, it would take a great deal of effort, it all depends upon whether you love each other enough to make this effort."
"But I love her, pastor," Timothy said emphatically,  "If  I can not get her, I don't know what I would do."
"Suicide?"
"I told her that once."
"That is where you made a great mistake, Timothy, it makes me doubt whether you really love her." 
"Why?
"Because you try to force her by menacing her, this is not love, love never force the other one, Real love gives the other one complete freedom, even the freedom say "No", if she married you in order to keep you from committing suicide, she would marry you out of fear, not out of love."
"But what can I do to make her love me?"
"Show her your love, not making threats but by doing some hard work"
"Work" Timothy seemed to be frightened, "What kind of work?"
"Work at your self."
He looked at me with out understanding.
"You see, Timothy, what worries me about your relationship to Miriam more than your difference in age and education is your lack of ambition, I am sure Miriam want to make much out of her life in the future, but you just told me that you may become a sergeant, maybe, maybe not, you lack ambition, should you married Miriam, this would probably cause trouble."
"But I can not change my height and age, or past education."
"You can change your ambition though, change the things you can change, this would show Miriam more than anything else how much you love her."
Timothy sat in thoughtful silence, I thought he had heard enough to think about.
He left, but with a sad look on his face, I am sure he had not expected our talk to have such an outcome, after he had gone I realized what a tiring day, I had and lay down for a few minutes, rest, I would have fallen asleep  in my street clothes, but the telephone rang.
"This is the girl who called you in the afternoon."
" I'm so glad you called again, I forgot to ask you for your name and address this afternoon."
"I do not want to give you my name and address, I don't want my husband to know that I have such talks."
"Where are you calling from now?"
"From home, my husband just went out for a beer, but when he comes back, I have to hang up immediately."
"I see."
"I was at your lectures tonight, I slipped out of the school, but I was back before it closed, so my husband did not notice that I was in church."
"Well what do you think about my lecture?"
"It was interesting, Only I don't like your triangle."
"You don't? what was wrong with it?"
"Nothing, I suppose, I just don't like it, it has too many angles and Corner and points, they sting, it is just like man what he would think of marriage, all straight line and corner and everything just so, the pieces must fit exactly together, very uncomfortable, very unattractive to me."
"Thanks you."
"When I think of marriage, I think of something round and smooth and soft,  something you can put around your self like a warm cape."
"Maybe I should have draw a circle with three sectors."
"I thought of something better, when I looked at the triangle you draw on the blackboard, I thought, it looks almost like a tent."
" like a tent?"
"Yes a tent, it has to have at least three poles, otherwise It can not stand alone, but if it stands, you can crawl into it and you feel sheltered and protected from storm, it is very cosy in a tent when it rains, that is the way, I like to think of marriage."