Blood. I did not handle the red flag of puberty well.It started out well.We left Tolaga Bay rested, refreshed and in harmony ... mostly. I was jealous...of my prerogatives. I had spent three days cleaning, tinkering and fixing all the little things that go amiss on a protracted voyage. I expected to have my say.Did I?No!Instead, I was back on the mid to 6 watch.Certainly the sunrises were spectacular.And I agree that under shortened sail with the radar and autopilot doing the “work” I didn’t have. ”“I agree,” Jake said.Magus asked, “So how are things going?”“They are great. I talked to my Dad last night. He’s got a new job and it is really helping him out,” Jake said.“And your mother?”That was the best news of all, Jake said, “The experimental drugs seem to be helping.”“That is good news,” Magus said.“Things are a whole lot better than when I walked into your office the first time,” Jake said. Once he had accepted that he wasn’t going to graduate in four years, he had found that a lot of. He couldn't help it and mimicked me. It was still too dark."You don't by chance have a flashlight, do you?"The woman quickly opened her large purse and gave me a cheap flashlight. She said by way of explanation, "It comes in handy sometimes."I opened my own mouth again and shined the light in. Jeff opened his mouth and I pointed the flashlight in his throat. I saw that the tonsils were infected. The flashlight was moved around a bit and then I handed it to the child.I turned my head and said,. .. Damn it, Jack, you should tell me these things. I need a secretary these days, I am getting so scatter-brained. You turned seventeen what, a week ago?”Oops ... thought I got away with that.Ignoring the real question, I had one of my own. “Can you believe in just another week, it will have been two years since we had that first meeting on the River Walk. Two years, Jake!”“Yeah, I was thinking about that when I was waiting for your plane to land and completely forgot to mention it. Kind of.