Skinner, and we will agree to be polite to each other in front of the women?’ ‘Agreed.’ ‘What are you boys agreeing about?’ Mary asked, brin...ing out a tray of fresh baked cinnamon rolls and coffee with Anita right behind her with the first stack of family photo albums. Mary only heard Daniel’s last agreeing but not any of their previous private conversation. ‘Pops agreed to go ice fishing with me when his back is better. Isn’t that right, Pops?’ ‘Pops?’ Mary said laughing, while handing her. The wooden floor biting into my flesh as the muscles in my thighs protest their lack of movement. None of it matters.I just need that click. The one morsel of sound that signals his arrival, that makes my breath catch in my throat and my stomach flutter with need.My eyes are closed making every sound elevated. The cars outside the window and the dog barking across the street. The crunch of the key hitting the lock, and the click as it turns. My click.My hands are clenched behind my back, my. Perhaps Alice was inexperienced with romantic situations, but our friendship was well-established and, since I'd made no overt "moves" on her of a sexual nature, I figured it was a simple matter for Alice to continue to think of us as "just friends."Nothing wrong with that. Thinking of me as a friend would only be self-delusion, on her part, if I tried to escalate the relationship into something else.I found myself liking this woman more and more. My first impressions had been simply that Alice. To complete the outfit, I wore the traditional, long, white scarf trailing down my back, held in place by a gold-colored band across my forehead and around my head. I looked a bit like the old movie poster picture I’d once seen for Lawrence of Arabia.The wedding was held in some sort of large conference room on the palace grounds. Once again, my wives left me and joined the rest of the women while I joined the men. I was surprised to find all the VIPs that I had met previously and many more men.