im afraid im dealing with some stiff competition this year . getting up from the table now covered with all his personal materials , he walked over to the counter and spoke to the librarian . `` just the same , '' hale said , not smiling , meeting her eyes . watching ginger stop under the trees . `` nice cold bud my friend , just the way you like it ! he struggled to find a comfortable position on the sofa . the top of her head barely came up to the middle of my chest . 