“She wanted to know who I was, and why I was answering the phone. I told her you were busy with the renovation, rather than telling her you were tak...ng a leak.” He grinned. “Did I say the wrong thing?”“She doesn’t know about the renovation!” hissed Renee.“Oh,” said Bobby. “She does now.” He pointed at the phone. “She’s waiting to talk to you.”Renee stared at the phone like it was a viper. She tried to calm herself and lifted it.“Hi, Mommy,” she tried to say brightly.“What in the world is going. "That's Nero, Jack!" Annie said."Wow," Jack said. He had never thought of meeting the Emperor of Rome, although he had met a few kings along the way. "He ruled the world, you know." What was known of it," Annie said. More trumpets, and the games began. Jack took out his notebook and scribbled in it furiously, but Annie buried her face in his shoulder from time to time as they both watched the mounting horror in the center ring. Men were slaughtered before their eyes. Annie and Jack were no. Flustered, I sat down and apologised but he was cool about it. ‘Trust me’ he assured, ‘hard is good. It takes a bit more to get me that way these days, especially now that the wife has passed’, he sighed. He took another swig from his glass and looked off to the window, I guess reminiscing about his wife and I again found myself admiring his privates. I don’t know what it was, I never considered myself as gay and certainly didn’t fancy him but my eyes were glued to his naked reflection and I. I pecked her on the cheek.“Goodnight Serena”“Goodnight Neil” she said and walked away up her garden path. I got back in the car, waved at her and drove home. The end or the start of something big? I wondered.A couple of days slowly passed and I thought about going into the shop but very late on Tuesday night the phone rang and it was Serena.“Hi how are you?”“All the better for hearing you” I enthused, “I hoped you would call”“ Why didn't you call me then?”“ The decisions are all yours now.