After trying and failing for almost an hour to doze off into sleep, she finally relented and sat up on the edge of the bed. She caught a glimpse of he...self in the mirror and scrutinised what she saw. She was of medium build, slighter taller than the average woman, with long, flowing, brunette locks and sparkling blue eyes. Her perky bottom, curved body and plump, if a little small, breasts gave her a modest beauty. She didn’t particularly like what she saw, nor did she hate it. It was more like. "And took Morg by the hand and not quite dragged him out.The children watched them depart. They looked at one another, shrugged and after Hazel had the spider jump onto her shoulder, they headed off to the library.Julia surveyed the now empty room, sighed, smiled and poured a fresh cup of tea to enjoy before having to go to work at Harriers....Morg and Pat joined the children for dinner but only after some moral coercion by Hazel — we can't be left to care for ourselves etcetera; Julia was of. . Harriet has, well... been teaching me something this afternoon."Neil raised his eyebrows and started to make a smart comment, but saw Harriet's look of warning and dropped it."She... well, we were talking about our worst jobs"Neil laughed, which surprised Mae. "Sorry, Dave and I seemed to have had the same conversation."Mae suddenly laughed and covered her mouth. Harriet spoke up "I hope it WAS the same conversation, but I doubt it... very much"Mae saw Neil's look of confusion and continued.. At the very least, they did not have daughterly designs on him!From a well-preserved distance, a cadre of family spouses, companions, and children watched avidly. Coaching from the sponsor-wives and companions seemed to be working quite well. Michael had no idea that this event was raising the expectations bar for the Owen twins, Misty, and especially Valerie when they reached their own fourteenth birthdays.Captain Hoag and his soon-to-be sponsor-wives watched the dynamics with amused interest..