Half way down the slope, his reverie was interrupted by something moving on the opposite slope, slightly below him. The tawny color made him think the...e might be a deer in the brush; he swung the glasses up to his eyes and spotted the animal, easily. He gasped aloud! God damn! It was a mountain lion! He watched as the graceful animal picked its way down the slope toward the stream. The big cat drank, daintily, then, suddenly, he was gone, bounding up the hillside at an angle and disappearing. They are the heavies."Good morning Sandra, welcome to Rome," the suited man said. "Pleasefollow us."He didn't even offer me an arm and when I tried to get out of thelimousine in my hobble dress I fell onto the gravel driveway andfound myself picked up by the two other men. I know I walked most ofthe way but these men also held me, under my elbows, so at times Ifelt I was walking on air.Looking around I saw this extremely old mansion surrounded by verymature trees with a driveway I had just. “We’re a family operation, Grim, but we have to pull our weight around here. I told you that when you started. Your brother will be next, and Dave’s boys. I don’t know if any of you will be the third generation running this place, but I’ll be long gone by then, anyway.”“I don’t know what to say, Grandpa.”“Just think about it. I don’t know if you’ll be in sales. Probably in the production side, on the line. It won’t be minimum wage, either. We mostly pay more than minimum-wage. We pay what. Please take the time to vote. I awoke in pain the next morning. My ankle was throbbing, I could feel the constriction of the cast as my ankle swelled. I nearly screamed from the pain and fear. I knew this could not be good. Reaching for the intercom, I paged for anyone that would hear me, ‘I need Alex, now. I have a problem with my ankle.’ Less than five minutes later, Alex came running into the room. The pressure and pain were increasing at a rapid rate. The tears were streaming down my face.