He wasn’t blind-drunk, just brave-drunk. Not staggering, but a little unsteady.“Your size don’t scare me.”As usual, it all slowed down for me....I saw everything in the room more clearly, could hear better than ever. I felt the atmosphere in the room change, like weather. I took it all in and knew in an instant what I’d do. The key was to see all of him, all at once. Not his eyes, not his shoulders, not his gun hand. Or knife hand. All of him. That way I got a feeling, a sense of when a man was. He spun around, looking for the person. He saw the ghostly form of his dead wife standing, looking at him. ‘She’ll be home soon,’ her ghost whispered. He shook his head in disbelief as Maria’s form sat in a chair. He reached out to grab the pastry. ‘No!’ Maria’s voice shouted in both ears. He felt ice cold hands grab his shoulders. He was spun around and pushed backwards with such force he was off his feet. His body landed against an oak desk, his head snapped back. His neck was snapped like a. ”“Thank you for that, Mel,” said Hal. “We are all three of us moving on, and I can’t think of any nicer people to travel with.”“On that note Mr. Bentley, shall we go upstairs?”“Play nicely children,” said Ben.Hal stood to the side and ushered Melanie into his room. She walked to the centre, close to the bed, then turned to him smiling."I'm so excited," she squeaked. "Come here you gorgeous man and wrap your arms around me." Oh yesss!" said Hal.They came together slowly at first. Each learning. "Jacquilt remembered the time he had been caught in the swords vortex, the swirling black aloneness, he had been accused of having an affair with Natalie, his friend Rav's wife, when in reality he had been lusting in his heart for his friends Brand and Bitsy's daughter, Kim. It had seemed to compound the feelings of guilt, those feelings and thoughts had flashed in front of him over and over again, the laughing face of a baby Rav, the tiny fairy twins as little children, all his friends who had.