. for five grand!”“What? You’re joking?”“Nope, I kid you not.”I got up and went to Mom. Instead of hugging her, I brushed her stilled hand... aside and grasped her blouse, pulling it up out of her skirt to finish the job for her.“You’re really serious, aren’t you?”“I am,” I laughed. “I’m really, really serious.”I struggled and failed to keep a straight face. What I didn’t fail at was undoing the remaining buttons on Mom’s blouse. She didn’t seem to even notice what I was doing, even when I pulled. You saved his life!". She had all the telltale signs of crying. Other family members came up and hugged us or shook hands. The doctor came out and talked to us." Mike is stable, he just got out of surgery and is being moved to a post-op room now. You should be able to see him in about 30 minutes." Thanks doc, how bad are his injuries?" I asked."He had some broken ribs that took plates and screws to mend. He'll be in pain for a bit, but he should recover nicely."The doctor left and we talked. After our kisses and hugs, I introduced George to Abby and he knelt to make himself exactly her height, took her hand as gentle as could be, and kissed the back of that hand, declaring, “Well ... young lady. You are about the prettiest thing I’ve seen in two decades. It’s too darn bad that you jumped the gun and married this fellow. I would have been thrilled to capture your heart and make you the next ex-Mrs. George Seward.”It was easy for anyone to see that George was welcome at our house.We. ‘I didn’t consciously choose to do… anything to deliberately hurt you. It just friggin’ happened.’ ‘No,’ Gary contradicted her. ‘It didn’t ‘just happen’ when you left here last night.’ His words stung her with their truth. No, last night hadn’t just happened, that’s for sure. Last night was totally premeditated. It wasn’t in doubt even before she went to see Gary. Even before Julie had a clue as to what Gary was going to say to her. ‘Gary,’ Julie protested. But she had no follow up. What could.