Travel conditions were quite good, so that we were able to make 15 miles a day without straining the mules.It took us 50 days to make it to Saint Loui..., and there we had our first major decision to make. We could winter in Saint Louis, or we could continue to Independence. Furthermore, we could go overland to Independence or we could take a riverboat up the Missouri River. We discussed the matter, and decided to take the riverboat. It was expensive, but we had the money, so that was what we. There was only one way to find out while I was pretending to be asleep. Letting out deep moans I started a very light snoring noise and at the same time let my left hand fall to the floor beside the bed.He continued his massage and after a while I shifted my body in one motion by lifting my right leg bent from the knee and moving my left hand and placing it on Bablu’s thighs. Both the movements made him sit upright and my hand inadvertently (deliberately from my side) landed on top of his. " Aaron had stepped out of the elevator just as Frank was concluding his conversation with Floyd. He waited for Frank to rattle off the economic parameters. He took a sip of the coffee that Floyd brought for him."It's not as good as Jeannette's," Aaron commented as he tasted Floyd's brew. "At this time of the morning, anything would be good."Frank looked over his reading glasses as Aaron awaited the forecast dictum. He wondered to himself if Aaron had heard what had been said a few minutes ago. "I guess you grew out of that. Okay if I call you Fabi?"A smile was his reward. "Yes, I like that," she answered. "Maybe we can go out together when you have time. I have Sundays off."Briefly Deirdre's image flashed before Joey's eyes but he gave a mental shrug. She had left him for good over two years ago. He would not even know how to contact her. He had put his life on hold for too long."Sure, let's exchange cell phone numbers."She gave him her number and programmed his into her own.