I pulled away from herwithout a word and stormed out the door. Once outside I took off down thestreet before the rest of them could follow.As I walked... I became acutely aware of being alone. I passed a group ofyoung men and received several suggestive comments. I quickened my pace.This was the first time I had been alone outside the house at night andit made me realize how vulnerable I was at that moment. Ahead of me Icould see the Copley Plaza Hotel. I went into the lobby looking aroundfor a. Cooper scheduled a follow-upappointment for two weeks later. "If you're comfortable with the costs,we can start Sandra's treatments right away."As we got up to leave, I said as sincerely as I could, "Thank you SOmuch - both of you." I didn't realize I had tears in my eyes until Dr.Cooper handed me a Kleenex.*****Mom was silent for most of the drive home, and I wondered if her mindwas racing as fast as mine was. It seemed too good to be true - Ididn't even have to get down on my knees and beg. I. Would that stop Ellen from finding a man? Ellen had been blooming lately, showing confidence that she had never had before. So why wasn’t she out dating? And what about Jake? Was he going to be led astray living in that house?Gramma grimaced at a twinge of pain in her chest. It was just one of any number of aches and pains that came and went at her age, to say nothing of the arthritis in her hands that was a constant irritant. Gramma wondered if any of it was worth going to a doctor. Probably. She was obviously expecting a reply.Mummy made us choose some knickers for each other. I chose red ones forAlice and he chose some peach ones for me. I really liked what he hadchosen for me. Not just the colour, there were pretty frills around theelasticated leg-holes.We set off back to Mummy's house. Now that Alice and I had the hairstylesand faces of pretty girls, I felt more confident of my appearance. But itwould only take a gust of wind to lift the skirts of our light raincoatsfor our.