" Was there ever any doubt?" Lillian tried to laugh, but somehow there were tears in her eyes. "Are you sure about this – really sure? I've always t...ought the world of Van, but I was in love with Ryan – deeply in love with him. I still miss him so much, but he told me to go on with my life if he didn't come back. He made me promise. But Van ... uh, I've never let myself go around him. I had too much respect for you to ever try to encroach on your property, but now ... When he kissed me there in. But she had already slipped a beige silk kimono over her pert nakedness."Please don't get dressed just yet," she insisted. "There's more, but I will leave you alone for a bit." And she vanished.A short time later, a polite knock stirred him from his reverie. She returned with a mixed media package. "You can have this; it's your wife's session. She was saving it as part of your surprise." Great. Did you record mine?" he asked hopefully."Yes, but..." She bit her lip, lost in thought."But what?". “Making more money now. Can’t complain.”Her eyes are watching her brother fling Theresa around on the dance floor. “Good for you.”She says that like she means it, and I wonder if that isn’t worse.“Yeah.” The words are tumbling out before I can stop them. “I’ve missed you, you know.”Valerie doesn’t answer. She is standing there, all adult-like, and it drives me crazy.Her smile comes, but it’s not real. It’s not the smile she used to give me. But she ends up looking at me and I realize I can’t be. .." I stopped."Stings like a bee." She said automatically, like almost anyone my age orolder and almost no one younger than me. But she looked at me oddly, fora moment and stopped herself from adding something else."Shit," I said."That's not sports, you want OpEd." She grinned.I drove in silence a while. "George Kelly wrote several articles on thatdamn pine tar bat." Yeah, I milked that one good." You're his daughter?" I was 67!" Granddaughter? You read all his articles?"She sighed. "So now you.