It occurred to him for the first time that he was one of those unfortunate individuals who are always able to open the door to Paradise for others and are themselves forced to remain outside.
Hadn't he introduced Conover to Molly, and hadn't they fallen in love on the spot?
Too old to be a hero and not old enough to die.

He grinned.
Some day he would use that line.
Of course it wasn't Kitty who set this peculiar cogitation in motion.

It wasn't her arms and the perfume of her hair.

The actual thrill had come from a recrudescence of a vanished passion; anyhow, a passion that had been held suspended all these years.

Still, it offered a disquieting prospect.