’ The ship’s horn blasted through us. It was announcing us to any boats coming upstream, as we rounded a bend. We were far too close to it, so th...t it vibrated through bodies and drowned out everything. But it gave me time to think. Then: ‘Maybe for a moment, just for a moment, I felt some … jealousy, or regret. Because I could imagine how your mouth felt. I could imagine sharing your breath. And I knew you weren’t for me.’ Oh hell! End this nonsense! ‘I wouldn’t ever expose you. Please. Justin grabbed beers out of the cooler and handed his sister and Allison one each.The steak was wonderful and the fruit was refreshing. Melanie stood up and left Justin and Allison sitting at the table sipping the last of their beers to clean up a little. She threw away trash and got the grill grates out of the grill and put them in the outdoor sink to soak. Once she was satisfied, she glanced at them still sitting at the patio table. They were too busy to notice her duck into the pool’s. He had opted for a pair of stone coloured chinos, a Paul Smith shirt and a tan blazer that hadn’t seen the light of day for quite some time. Brown deck shoes completed the ensemble. He felt comfortably dressed and quite ready for the evening’s entertainments.Rachel, when she answered the door to his press on the bell push, was nothing like her voice might have suggested. On the telephone, her voice, in its lightness, suggested someone on the diminutive side. Rachel was anything but diminutive.. For himself, David surveyed the company and mentally dismissed the idea of chasing any of those present. Perhaps I’ll have better luck on Saturday, he thought, as most of these are with husbands or with very young children. I’ve had enough of married women and I really don’t know how to get on well with infant school children. And the ones who have neither are either geriatrics or total nonentities.Out of idle curiosity he asked who the contralto was. It seemed that she had arrived in the area.