The food came almost as fast and thick as the wine. Thefood was decent but from the murmurs of approval around the table I guessedthe wine was excelle...t. Somebody was doing very well in this household. Iknew Carmela had a good job now, but I never did, unless Sebastien had madesomething of my life.The conversation was mostly legal, technical, or company oriented. Implants,or Caroline to give her her real name, was the only one who looked lost ifSebastien was otherwise engaged or Henry was with. "Sasha changed back into a female and went over to Tara's dorm. Sasha waswearing a short denim skirt, wedged sandals, and a tank top. She knockedon the door and Tara invited her in. While Sasha wasn't as close to Taraas she was with Katie, they had become good friends over the past severalweeks."What I'm about to ask you will sound a little strange," Tara began."What is it?" Sasha asked confusedly."I want you to be a boy on Halloween," Tara said."What?" Sasha asked in shock wondering if Tara. What do you want?" I asked."Same as my Mum. I just never trusted Benny and think if it wasn't for my Dad it could have been worse," Aroha replied."Enough of these dark moments," Mum interrupted. "Will you help me do a hangi (Maori food cooked in the ground), Aroha?" Oh yes, Nat, I'd love to," Aroha replied with a beaming smile."Great, I've always wanted to try it, but never had anyone to show me," Mum replied."When would you like to do it?" Aroha asked."Mid-week will be fine, the guys will need. I've always been the one others call when they have problems. I was in the Navy and did two deployments to Iraq, so I'm not a crybaby, I'm a realist. The diagnosis was made, and we sought treatment. We did all we could, but cancer is an invitation to the other side to which, in most cases, the RSVP can not be withdrawn.Nothing motivates me now. It's as if I'm on autopilot, and everything I do is just part of my programming. I haven't even gone back to work yet. It'd probably help me to keep.