She cringed away from the boys, stumbling along the wall and barely saving herself from falling. "Fuck!" she said. Her heart was in a flurry. "Hey," t...e skate guard said, gliding over. "Watch your language around the kids." "Sorry, sorry," she muttered, fighting the quick sting of tears, skating away quickly. Anger and panic consumed her; she struggled to fight it back. Fuck her therapist for suggesting Kelly's passion for ice skating could be "real-world" therapy. Her revulsion at being. He laughed and said, "never let it be said that whisky is a weakness, myfriend, it shows true character in a man. Let's leave the froth to thegirls shall we, and have a proper drink."Areeya nodded to the waitress, who delivered two glasses of champagne tothe girls and then started to pour the whisky."Make sure, they are proper measures too. I have a brought a fresh bottlewith me so we won't run out." He was used to command and he was not shyabout doing so.He turned to Alex, "Alex, I am so. I’ll take you to meet her right now. They’re on a really tight schedule but I’m sure they’ll stop for you.”Beth exchanged a look with her son and elbowed him in the ribs lightly. The studio was coming forward with its hand out again.“I don’t think that would be necessary,” Phil said. “My girlfriend is just a big fan of her music.”Still, Withers redirected the pair to a new soundstage where a sign with the words “authorized crew only” emblazoned on the door. He stopped suddenly and turned.“Uh, I. ---Rose climbed into her little Geo and was soon on her way, leaving our hero to ponder the vagaries of this fascinating woman. He also pondered the use of an axe and maul, two items he was fortunately familiar with from his camping. He set about splitting wood, slowly at first, then as his muscles warmed up he developed a steady rhythm. Billets of wood falling with a satisfying chunk as each swing of the heavy sledge drove the maul into the log before him. The day warmed, as those crisp fall.