Bye." Wait! Can I talk to Shahia?" Okay."He passed the phone to her; she was crying from what he'd said. "Hi, Helen."She listened to the phone for may...e a minute, not saying anything. "Thank you. We will. I love you too. Bye."When she gave the phone back, Chris asked her what his mum had said.She looked at him through her tears. "She told me how much she loved us all, that she'd miss us badly, that we needed to stick together and to help each other. And she told me that she's already forgiven. Sure it locks, but I can’t risk it. So I’m reading, eyes tracking sentences like lighthouse beacons, heart banging like a loose shutter in hurricane season, and already the locks on the Panama Canal are failing. All the familiar tingles and throbs are at high frequency and multiplied exponentially by the forceful, dare I say, borderline aggressive, vibe radiating from the narrator. Who is this man? Where did his stream of consciousness come from and how did it darken and lengthen so alluringly. I justwant to spend time with you in the most natural manner possible. Doingsomething we both would be doing anyway. It would lead to both of usnot being tense.If you ever had to ask a woman out, you would understand that it ishard."Nadine was a little offended by Jermaine's last comment. If he knew thetruth about her, then he would know that she fully understood how hardit is to ask a woman out. Nadine started life as Russell Gatling. Shedid not transition to being Nadine until right after. Once they all were seated the woman introduced herself as Kimiko and then spoke something in Japanese to the man standing next to her. He bowed and turned around, walking through a door in the corner of the room. After that, she whispered something in Ava’s ear and smiled back with a condescending smile at Marie, like she was unintentionally trying to say they were talking about her, as well as there being a look of disapproval on the woman’s face.Did I do something wrong? Marie asked.