My heart sank as her hands went for her window curtains. My show would soon be over, and the rest would tragically be left to my imagination.To my ple...sant surprise, she didn't close the curtains. Rather, she seemed to be admiring their design, running the fabric through her soft hands. Beauty admiring beauty; there wasn't much that I found more visually pleasing. Soon after, this young lady was opening the window, and leaning completely out of the window frame. The straps of her halter-top. Little things-not harmful, in themselves, but that demonstrate an ability to take their lives on a whim. Things like car bombs that only burn up the electrical system-with a lot of smoke; dead animals in their beds-placed there, preferably, while they are sleeping... Notes left on their pillows... There are any number of things along these lines that would make somebody jumpy."Mom liked it."How about phone threats and things like that?" Not a good idea. There are too many records of telephone. Thompson about the beauty of her daughters, and how it was a reflection of her beauty; the enormity of Mr. Thompson's business success and how he was a titan of industry; blah-blah-blah-blah-blah ... Needless to say, I was simply a fly-speck on his radar and, thus, beneath his notice. Francine seemed to put up with him, though; so there must have been some reasonably good history with those two.It did not matter to me, though. I thought that Steadman Carstairs was simply a dick, with a capital. Looking at you I'm wonderingwhy we never talked about this? I thought that we were closer than that." How could I mom!? With the girls all married and moved away, Jeff in theNavy, and dad gone, I knew that you wanted me to be the man of the house,and I was, but I had this girl running around inside of me, and once in awhile she just had to get out! But how could I tell you that? What wouldyou have done? Send me to a shrink? Ground me?" No dear, I would not have done any of those things, at.