So, as this is homemade bread, and damn fine bread at that, no, it isn’t gluten?” Suzy looked at me, I just shrugged. “It isn’t gluten-free. N...w, do you want some or not?”I could see that Nigel was getting frustrated. “No,” he snapped, “I don’t. I’ll have a cup of coffee. Please tell me it’s free-trade coffee.”I spoke up, “I’ll tell you what your highness, We’ll set up a bowl of soup and a couple of slices of bread. Along with a cup of coffee. If you change your mind, it’ll be right over here. She dropped down on me as we kissed softly and quietly afterward. "You two were beautiful," I heard my niece say as we lay there in each other's arms. "Do you think I could borrow my uncle for some of the same?" she asked. "Well, Zach, it seems like you're in demand. It's fine with me, Jackie's a big girl now and I certainly have no objections, in fact, I'm willing to recommend you to her as a lover. You're really quite wonderful in bed." "Oh, but you're the one who did all the work, I just. After brushing the dust off my dress, I poked my head around the cornerto see if the road was empty. It was clear.What to do?I had no idea. All I knew was that I was never going back to theSowerberry's. I was not going to be beaten by the beadle; anything butthat.I stood for a long moment, agonising as to what a small child like mecould do. Then I had it. I would run away.I started walking out of the town, avoiding any people that were comingmy way. I felt conspicuous, wearing these clothes,. I had one of those moments of clarity I occasionally am lucky enough to experience. It was partly my fault, too. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’d been neglecting her, but it was closer than I was comfortable with. I’d been as busy as she was of late and intensely focused on my job and my training, throwing myself into both areas until my time fell into cycles of work, train, recover, and repeat. Communication was as open between us as it ever was, and I still spent as much of my free time as.