The box is for Troy, he can open it after we talk.”“And I suppose some Best Buy cashier is out of a job for letting you walk out with it.”“Non...ense! Paid cash in full,” she said, waving the receipt in front of the screen so Julie could see it, holding her thumb over the price. “I don’t have to do things like that anymore if I don’t want to, and I wouldn’t skimp for my oldest, dearest friends on their special day. Now, be a peach and take me over to the other couch. I can barely hear you over. It had been just you and he together. Sharing one another, showing physically the love you both possess. It had been some time since you could remember feeling like this again. It was that most special of feelings that you once feared was never to return. It had taken some time but all was right now. It had been worth the wait. It is amazing. You both want to please the other so much. He cooks, cleans, is wonderful with the children. He writes for you. He listens. His business has. I would have preferred to simply jump directly to the Shavrom courtyard and bypass the city gates and streets of Beletara completely. Lord Esterhal, being King of Midhal felt some obligation to make this something of an official visit, and that would mean arriving in the city in carriages and with a full troop of Midhal's mounted Royal Guard. In the end we compromised. We had carriages, and we had eight Royal Guardsmen, and we had Weaver, Ash, Wind and myself as outriders.Cor was excited about. It was Merril who suggested that she should travel in the back seat so that she could have space for all the food. And so it was that Jackie sat next to me up front for our journey.We set off southbound for a trip that would probably take the best part of four hours. We stopped for refreshments after covering a hundred miles or so, and both girls took the opportunity of sharing a bottle of wine.We continued our journey and Jackie climbed onto her seat and kneeling, turned around to face Merril.