.. what’s the word? Puzzle pieces. We fit together.”“Jigsaw,” I whispered, not correcting her, but helping. I kissed her tenderly, and felt he... purr in my arms.“I gave myself to Jirou,” Sammy said. “As for him, he never claimed me for himself.” There was a touch of sadness in her voice. “Sumo has claimed me, and as I said, I’m complete.”“Thanks, Sammy.”“Let me pick up Shirley today, Sumo. She is a beautiful child, smart and strong, the same as her mother, my Sumo.”“Sure thing.”I spent some. ” He waited for her reaction.Ellen seemed to be trying to decide how to respond to this. Should he wait, or should he follow it by saying something else?He waited. He didn’t know it, but the fruit juice was starting to take react with the tablet she had taken earlier.Finally Ellen spoke. “You’re only saying that to be kind, I mean, if for arguments sake I offered to let you touch me down there, I bet you’d run a mile?” The tone of her voice and the expression on her face told Billy that she. “But, a necessary one. We’re just getting to know each other.” He finished his coffee. “Warts and all. It’s Saturday. When do you need to be back home?”“Probably first thing Monday. Brad’s not due back until late Saturday.” April retrieved her phone and placed a call. “Hi Rayla. It’s April.” She listened for a moment. “No, I’m with a friend. Will you need me to watch Mattie tonight?” She listened more. “What about Sunday? ... I’ll be sure to be home before you and Brad need to leave for work. Stubborn as amule. Foolish. They?d come to him for hisexpertise, and it was willingly given. Yet?His eyes glinted darkly as he lookedupon her, impressed she?d lasted so very long. Impressed anddesperate. The stipulations of the contract played over in his mind; hehad another week to crack her in two and clean up, else his employers ?understanding, respectful as they might be ? would be unhappy. But hisdesperation had a different source. Kneeling by the cage, his hands restedgently on her.