Those glasses were a distraction, though.It only took half an hour or so to replace the washer in the header-tank ball-valve and most of that was gett...ng it apart as it looked as though it hadn't been touched since the house was built. I was grubby and sweaty from wrestling with it in the loft space."How much do I owe you?" The look of gratitude in her expression had been payment enough and I waved it off."Just being a good neighbour," I smiled."At least let me make you a cup of coffee."It. You .......you're so fucking ...I want it, and I want it again. But I want to tell you something before we do anything, okay?" As long as you don't take too long." Okay, well, here goes. Do you remember, a long time ago, I think you were in high school, and you were here for a whole summer?" Yeah, I guess so.'' "You had a girlfriend who was here a lot that summer." Oh, the summer you were thirteen, I'll bet." Yep, and you and your girlfriend were here.." Bonnie" Yeah, Bonnie, she was. Abby's mother shrugs and gives Dana an apologetic smile. Abby leans Dana against the counter and runs a washcloth underneath the cold water. "I'm sorry she slapped you."Abby apologizes for her mother and runs the washcloth over Dana's cheek. Dana smiles."She packs a lot of power in that hand."Dana jokes and Abby chuckles. Dana clears her throat and holds up the bag of champagne and orange juice."I planned on mimosas and staying in bed for most of the morning."Dana says with a pained smile then. This time around, I felt she was listening to me. She did not address each and everything I said to her, but she would come back and mostly we would talk about it, without venom. It became more likely after she had cooled down, sometimes even when it was happening. Having her hear me and respect what I had to say was probably one of the biggest things that drew me back into this marriage, I began to really feel that this could work. She had changed, and so had I. It takes two. I knew how hard.