Opening: The first time I saw her she was jogging in the park. I was sitting on a bench, reading the paper like I do every morning. I didn’t pay much attention to her, except to note the resemblance.
The next time was in the supermarket. I’d stopped by to replenish my supply of instants—coffee, creamer, sweetener—and this time I got a better look at her. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. At seventy-six, it wouldn’t be the first time that had happened. Read more...
Capsule: There's high polish at work in this tale by Resnick about the encounter of a seventy-six year old man with a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to his wife--as she was forty-seven years ago. The dialogue is sparkling and Resnick manages, almost exclusively through it, to address all the natural questions that come to the reader's mind in a way that does as much to reveal the character's personalities as it does move forward the plot. The High Concept works, and the resolution is elegant, though in my case it didn't deliver an emotional punch.
This piece is one of the 2008 Hugo Award nominees in the "Best Short Story" category. Curiously, it's not on the LRSFL.
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