" I don't know why you said he's a nerd. I thought he was very nice." Are you blushing mother? Oh my God, you are! You think he's cute orsomething!"St...phanie glared at Marty. "I do not have the hots for your--for MY boss,or for any guy. Get that through your head right now."Marty gave an exaggerated salute and said, "Yes, M'AM!"The next few days passed uneventfully. Marty kept hoping Stephanie wouldsee that he was doing everything he could to keep the house orderly.Heck, he had even gone out. But she’s terribly homesick. She hides it from herself pretty well, but I saw it.“There’s a ship coming for her in a few more years,” she continued. “Béla plans to take us all with her and abandon earth. I never understood why until now. She managed to hide that from me when our minds were merged together.”“That’s amazing,” Jake said, dumbfounded. “So, I guess we don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen here. Béla’s already solved the problem of mankind’s continuation.”“You don’t mind. "I smiled and nodded again. "Sounds like fun."He cleared his throat. "From what I see, you are going to have quite a fireworks display. Would you mind if we were to park our boat off your pier, say a100 yards away, and watch you fire them off?"I guess it was obvious that the only safe place for the pyrotechnics was the pier.I pondered for a minute. "I don't see why not. If a rocket flies crooked and hits your boat, I can't take responsibility for any damage."He nodded. "I'm a businessman. As Scott was cleaning up after breakfast, Janice shouted, "I got it!Scott, finish up and meet me in the living room." It took Scott anotherfive minutes to finish. He walked to living room and Janice was sittingthere calm, writing notes.Janice looked up as Scott walked in. She said, "You have fun beingScottie with all those women?" Scott said he did and said, "It gives me abreak I guess from being myself. It's kind of a hoot." Janice smiled andsaid, "Well, I need Scottie to be my assist for the.