”“And I love my Dave. And I also love my Brindy. And I love my new sister, Dave.”“Are you sure about this?”“She is scared to approach you,...Dave. She has never been with a man, has never been loved and cared for like you do for us.”“Baby, she doesn’t have to...”“She says she loves us. Brindy. Me. You. She wants ... what can we fairly say to tell her ‘no’?”“What a mess...”I kissed my husband. “You are the best, Dave. I will never have another. We gave gifts to each other, married. Brindy says you. She said that his hands were so rough, and asked him as to why they were so? Senthil replied that he has to pull a lot of rope to haul the net in as the boats come at the end of the day. My wife placed his palm on her cheeks and said again that it was so rough. Nimi murmured in my ear, “Well done sister”. Then she took his hand and placed it on her breast and then got up. This time her “munthanai” stayed in place and she deliberately pulled it down for Senthil to see her beautiful body. She. Bitterness and rage boiled up inside her. She told herself she didn’t need anyone’s help or company, ignoring the undercurrent of insignificant doubts that always accompanied this line of thought. Karen focused on the brake lights of a burgundy Lincoln halting on the roads shoulder a few hundred feet ahead of her. Her feet and legs responded grudgingly, as she tried to jog up to the waiting car. The man inside wore a light blue dress shirt and blue slacks. He had apparently kicked his loafers. “Oh, come on!”Without any warning Linnea snapped those folded sheets from my hands and opened my exam. I closed my eyes.“Sixty-seven percent. Sixty-seven! I was sure that I taught you better than this!”Sixty-seven percent. Sixty-seven percent! That meant that I had passed! Without any more thinking I took Linnea’s head between my hands and kissed her on the mouth. Damn, without her I would have been totally lost. Only then I realized what I had done. I quickly pulled back and looked carefully.