Neither my mother nor I really cried, as it was a relief that his long suffering had ended.We were sitting after the wake reminiscing about Dad, and m...ther was telling me stories about the good times they had had in their twenties, when suddenly she stopped."Rob, darling, can I ask you a personal question?" Sure, Mom, after all you've been doing that for the last 35 years." This is really personal. I hope you don't mind." Go ahead, Mom, I just reserve the right not to answer." Why haven't you. So easy tolose control. Like you're watching yourself from the outside. A story thatwrites itself. You forget to track the path of things. They just happen. Andyou let them.Back inside the house and it was far passed any normal bedtime.Justin was tugging at Fergus's briefs which started a wrestling match betweenthe two of them on the bed. Dakota was sitting on my lap facing me. Like a son.Or a little brother. But we both knew he wasn't.Amidst all the noise, screaming and laughing, Dakota's. In my purse was a hard plastic card that looked like a driver's license.Only it had two pictures instead of one. The man I'd been before theShift, and the pretty young girl I'd become.Of course, privacy advocates went nuts. Screaming about Big Brotheroverstepping its bounds. Their argument actually gained traction for awhile. But as the weeks went on and it became more obvious thatunscrupulous people were using their new bodies to do shady stuff, thevoices of those in favor of the database won. I might not be alone much longer. But that might just be me dreaming. But what's the harm in dreaming! It's not as if it'll really happen, because I know it's just a pipe dream. But I know that the idea is something that perks me up. It makes my life bearable again. I just can't think of the hurt if I were to lose another Karen. Maybe I'm just destined to have only one love in my life, except for my children. Can I really live with that outcome? Only time will tell.When I awoke the next day, I.