Before that, I thought there were enough surprises for a night. Natalie, however, proved, I was wrong. Preparing to go outside, she was putting a shoes on. Not "a" shoes but "the" shoes, actually. Nice, read leather shoes with 15 cm (6 inch) heels.

Then, she opened the door (which was up to her armpits now), waived us her hand, folded down and squeezed outside. She reminded me Alice trying to get into Rabbit"s hole... I recalled the moment when I was standing at this door stretching my arm to touch the crossbar... It should be as high as 200 or even 205 cm! Yet it was at the same level as Natalie"s armpits! Amazing!

My calculations were interrupted by Katie. When all except two of us left the room she came closer to me and I caught myself on idea that at the moment I considered her short despite I was still forced to crane my neck to look at her eyes. As I felt a bit tired of staring way up that evening I asked Katie would she mind if we"d sit down.

"Not at all", she answered. "Well, how you find Nata and all?" she asked once we sat on the sofa.

"Everything"s fine. Everybody"s nice and kind and..." I paused and unexpectedly even for myself added, "And tall. Including Natalie".

"Huh, you"ve noticed, haven"t you?" Katie smiled. "You know, we used to be very good friends, we lived next door and even played volleyball together. But", she added, "I remember her a little shorter. Actually, a bit shorter than myself. About a year ago her parents moved out of town, and I haven"t seen her since".

"Katie", I gained all my courage. "Why... Why Alex doesn"t dance with Natalie?"

"No idea. Why?"

"You know, I thought, they are a couple..." I lightened a cigarette.

"Did you?" Katie laughed out loudly. "Afraid, I must disappoint you: they are not. Alex"s girlfriend is Sarah".

"Sarah?!"

"Well, I see the reason for you to think the way you do. The height thing, isn"t it? But as far as I remember, Nata never liked tall guys. She used to find them too selfish. Besides", Katie smiled again, "there was never a guy tall enough for any of us around, let alone her new height".

She swallowed cocktail and said, "Of course, it"s been quite a while since we were close friends with her, but I doubt her preferences has changed since then. At least", she added laughing, "not as much as her height has anyways.

"So", she declared looking me straight into the eyes, "She"s free. And she likes you, Nick. Don"t be afraid of her. She doesn"t bite despite her size. Should I say more?"

The small backyard was a site of fiesta. Barbeque, music, laugh... Seeing me coming out of the house, Natalie waved her hand and pointed at stool next to her. Even sitting I felt like a dwarf; her knees (she was on the heels) were more than 30 cm (1 ft) higher than mine. I ask her whether she was fancy a dance, but she refused pointing at her shoes. So, we just chatted and enjoyed the company of each other.

I knew quite a bit about Natalie. She was 19 - same as Katie and eight years younger then me; she lived with her parents in a town 200 km away; she studied pharmacology, she came here to her friends on a vacation; she had indeed experienced a growth spurt and added another 20 cm (8 inch) to her already outstanding height; now she stood 2m29 (7ft 6 inch) barefoot; and, she hoped, her growth stopped at last. She was nice and intelligent yet a little shy.

"People always stare at me as if I would a freak or something", she said.

"You"re not a freak, you are not, believe me!" replied I passionately, "people just stare at you because your height is truly amazing. I mean, in the best meaning of the word... And... erm... it certainly is a merit outlining your beauty. You"re absolutely gorgeous". I surprised myself when a moment later I realized, it wasn"t just a word of politeness. What was that then? I had never been attracted to a taller girl before... Maybe the answer was, Natalie was not a tall girl; she was beyond tall...

"Thank you, you"re so kind", she said. And Katie intervened again: "Well, guys, time to play! Would everybody come to the table please?" Obviously, she was born to grow up (and up grew she did!) and become a dialogue breaker, I thought to myself as I was following the others gathering around the patio table with six huge candles burned at the edges of it. Max turned off all lamps, and table became the only bright spot in the garden surrounded by dark bushes and trees.