.. a... a..." Frank groped."Anesthetized." Gale offered."Yeah! That's it! That's it exactly! That part of my back feels more or lesslike it's somehow ...een anesthetized!Then, after a long moment of contemplative thought, Frank said, "Okay! Soanyhow, you still have yet to tell me what it fells like." Well..." in an effort to organize her impressions and there by, betterexplain herself, Gale began slowly and tentatively. "...while it kind of sortof reminds me of a scab - You know, given how. I just give all the information I can to my bosses, then we run cost analyses, to make sure any action we take is profitable. This could get very expensive very fast, and expenses without returns are not good business, no matter what line of work you’re in.”“So then, peace?”“No. Truce. If my people don’t take my suggestions, we will proceed. If they do, then we have peace, at least for a little while. It’s the best I can do.”I walked back over and stuck my hand out. He seemed surprised, but. Life is full of inconsistencies like that.The workweek was on us. Lisa was at least as good of a cook as I was and she was much more enthusiastic. We ate well.On Tuesday the movers met Lisa at her place, got things sorted out for storage, and brought the few things Lisa needed home.Mary reported mid-week that she was moved, too. I got the impression that a few of my things went into storage and a few of hers did not, but that was fine. Mary has better taste than I do, and I know it. I pretty. She got up and dialed a phone number impatiently. "You're not calling them," I implored."No, I'm not. Yeah, hello, beef and broccoli, extra broccoli, please, no beef, and brown rice. Yeah, for Tran again, on 1385 Hennepin, Unit 22. Yeah, call from security. Make sure it's hot. And bring chopsticks. Bye. OK, Alexandra, I got your broccoli. Call me when it arrives. I'm taking a bath." I continued with my dilation, and my reading for another half-hour, until the phone rang. "Tran, I'm running.