Do I get to come along?”“I asked him if that would be ok but he said the guys might feel a bit uncomfortable. He did say if we were to meet up aga...n, him and the guys would like to have a drink with you!”“Well at least he sounded fair. You go ahead babe and I’ll hear all about it later that night!”“I may not be back until the morning if I have a drink with them if that’s ok with you. You know I’ll be ok with them, they were all sweet guys!”“All sweet guys who wanted to fuck you!”“They still do. “We had such a huge welcome planned for all of you. Would you please wait right here and let me gather the bellboys?”“If you’d just show us to our rooms, we’ll each carry our own luggage,” Ezra told the man before he could leave.“Yes, of course. Please follow me. I feel so embarrassed ... I apologize for the mixup and for not giving you the special welcome we had planned.”“If you feel that it’s really important, you can still welcome us when we come down for dinner. We’ll need a couple of hours. Bob said I should attend the classes during the day and study at night.Helen was showing a baby bump that was getting bigger. We had resumed normal activities in the bedroom, knowing that would come to an end in late spring. She was one of the most active and organized people I had ever known. She managed the house and still drove a piece of equipment when needed. It was something to see a pregnant woman step down from the cab of a tractor and start unbuckling a load from the trailer hooked on. * * * * *"Cool, man. Did he make you pay for it?" Naw, he just gave me the quarter. But how he made it look like itshrunk from this big shiny mirror circle into this quarter, man, thatwas pretty cool."They reached the arcade, and, fortunately, no one had yet usurped themachine. Alan held up the quarter."Here goes nothing, man," he said, inserting the quarter into themachine.And with that, to Ralph's great amazement, Alan disappeared.* * * * *It was now the turn of the millenium, nearly.