I had stayed with them on many occasions when mother was in hospital for a prolonged period and father was working, so it was thought best I stayed wi...h them. I loved my time there, Uncle Philip used to work long hours and Aunty Sheila was rarely home before 6, giving me lots of time to dress up in her finery, so many gorgeous , sheer , silky, underthings to wear, always with ffnylons and high heels, and Aunty Sheila had the same size feet as mother. All four of them had gone for a pub lunch. .. except, apparently, salt miners. She thought, briefly, about just shutting the transmitter off at midnight, and powering it back up at six, but discarded that idea. That would cost almost the same amount, and was hard on the equipment.Plus - and this was the most important thing - it would mean she had to admit defeat.“I’ll cover the night shift,” she said, her voice tired.Rodney left, and she got into her purse to get a tissue. She knew she was going to cry.The little piece of paper that. What?! 'Fuck' who?In my whole life, I never heard my mother use swear words, and now here she was using the big 'f-word' as though it were an everyday verb. She turned partly away from me, now facing the cold dark fireplace. With a forced calm to her voice, mother asked, "Does she make you happy, George?"There was no way for me to answer. The situation was now both shocking and out of this fucking world. 'George', as you may have guessed, was my father. And no, before you think of it, I don't. Lang. "There were watchers." Any telepaths among them?" Victor asked."No. The Engine would not have allowed him to try this if there were. Anyway, there was no point. They knew he had a blocker, though he was somehow able to circumvent it." This 'Destiny Engine' cares for him?" I'm not sure if 'care' is the right word, but it does have a vested interest in his continued existence." Zaid remarked."You did exactly as you should, my dear friend." Inet said, touching his hand gently. He tried to.