John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn’t, the girl with the rose. Thirteen months ago, in a Florida library he took a book off the shelf and found himself intrigued with the notes in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind.

In front of the book, he discovered the previous owner’s name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.

During the next year and one-month the two grew to know each other through the mail. A Romance was budding. John requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. Later they scheduled their first meeting-7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York.

"You'll recognize me, " she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose.

A young woman in a green suit was coming toward him, her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers. Almost uncontrollably he made one step closer to her, and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell-a woman well past 40. The girl was walking quickly away. He felt as though he split in two, so keen was his desire to follow her, and yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned him and upheld his own.

He did not hesitate. He squared his shoulders and said, "I’m John, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"

The woman smiled, "I don’t know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

It’s not difficult to admire Miss Maynell’s wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in it's response to the unattractive.

约翰在等着他早已相知的女孩，虽然不知道她长什么样子，但是晓得她衣领上有着玫瑰的图案而来。十三个月以前，在佛罗里达州的一家小书店里面，当他从书架上面拿下来一本书后，他注意到书上边缘空白处的眉批。轻柔的字迹里透出她本人善于思考的内心和睿智的头脑。

在书店的前台那里，他找到了前一位借书人的名字。赫丽思.梅妮尔小姐。他花了心思和时间来找出她的住址。他写了封自荐信并邀请对方和自己写信交流。

在接下来的一年零一个月里面，这两人通过传递书信而彼此相知，暗生情愫。约翰向对方索要玉照，但是她回绝了。她提出的理由是要是约翰真的在乎自己的话，那么不管她是什么样子，他都可以接受的。后来他们约定第一次约会时间-在纽约的大中央车站那里见面，下午7点钟。

她写道：“你一定会认出我来的，在我穿的翻领上面有着红玫瑰图案”，于是约翰就在车站那里等待有着红玫瑰图案的女生的到来。

一位身着嫩绿色外套的年轻女孩径直向他走来，她有着修长而苗条的身材，如蓝色花朵颜色般的双眸。约翰几乎情不自禁地想要向她走去，而就在此时她看到了真正的赫丽思.梅妮尔小姐-一位四十好几的中年女人。那漂亮女孩快步走开了，而约翰此时思绪被分开了，他既非常想去追前面的漂亮女孩而内心又很想和那位真正心灵高尚而又支持陪伴她的赫丽思.梅妮尔在一起。

他不再犹豫，鼓起了勇气走向那为中年女人那里说道：“我就是约翰，您一定是赫丽思.梅妮尔小姐吧。在这见到您我很荣幸，能赏脸一起去吃个饭么？”

那个女人笑着对约翰说道：“孩子，我不知道这是怎么一会事。前面那个漂亮女孩恳求我在翻领那里戴上这个玫瑰图案。她还说如果你邀请我去吃饭，让我告诉她在街对面的的餐馆里等你呢。她说这是一种对你的考验。”
无可否认，梅妮尔小姐的智慧是另人折服的。在和不喜欢的人打交道的时候才能真正看出来一个人的本性。