"That's the nicest dress we've ever carried.You girls are very lucky - the bride wants you to look your best." Oh, Sandra always looks fantastic, no m...tter what she's wearing,"Natalie kidded.Looking myself over in the mirror and turning side to side, I demurred,"Oh, you know that's totally NOT true. Look at me - my hair! It kind ofclashes, wouldn't you say?" Only a little," she giggled. "Orange and pink - such a bold statementyou make!" I promise to get it fixed before the wedding. And it's. I almost blurted out a comment but just in time I remembered the warning in Joshua's book and tried to compose myself."Think I'll have an early night Mum. I'm not used to being a labourer." Did you get a pizza or something for your dinner Derek?" Mother called as I started up the stairs."No, Jean cooked steaks." Oh so it's Jean now is it. You watch yourself my lad!" Mother laughed at me, "Some old ladies like to have a toy-boy." Little did she realise how near the truth that was.For a while I. Since there was no atmosphere to slow her down, she figured that if she could get going fast, she could ride that speed for a long time, even after the fuel supply was exhausted. She would rather die in space than be recaptured by the ExTrans.It hadn't taken long, with the throttle wide open, to burn through the available fuel. Kat waited until the ship she had escaped was just a speck in her visor before activating her radio. She selected the chin toggle marked Emergency and started. My nearest neighbor was one and a half miles away and was seasonal. Most of my life I had lived in the heart of the city with inner city conveniences. Life was good but from time to time I missed the excitement of a big city, mostly for the sexual entertainment. Night clubs, strip clubs, and the general availability of sexual encounters that were common in the city just were not heard of way out here. The running joke concerning relationships out here was, you don’t lose your wife you just lose.