Around 6:30 that evening, Melinda waits quietly outside her hut, waiting for Ralph to show up. She had all but forgotten his odd reaction earlier that day. Finally, she sees him walking towards her from a distance. She waves to him, grinning.      "Hey, Melinda!" he calls.      "Hi, Ralph!" she calls back.      'This is going to be a great evening,' she thinks happily.      He gives her a friendly kiss on the cheek, as he always does when he sees her. "Ok, I'm starving," she says, smiling. "Tell me where we're going first."      He grins. "I have the perfect place picked out. What do you think about Thai food? After dinner we can make ourselves sick at the carnival," he laughs.      "Now that sounds great," she says, laughing back at him. He takes her hand in his and she doesn't fight him.