Sounds of utensils and bowls clanking sounded from the other side of the door, followed by a brief silence before Helen rejoined him."Ah! Chores done!...Now! If you do not mind, might I inquire what you were doing wandering about the forest in the middle of the night?"Erik paled and lowered his head to gaze at his tightly clasped hands lying on his lap. He spoke in a voice barely above a whisper."I, uh, well, I ran away from home last night."The woman regarded him for a moment, first cocking her. Thanu secbad lo job chesthadhi. Ma chat ala ala continue ayyi…thanaki Inka nannu meet ayyela chesa…aa roju night Baga rechagottina…next day meet avudham ani. Thanu Inka ok cheppindi…nenu aa roju Inka sick leave pettina…. thanakosam waiting…. vachindi pick chesukunna….direct ga scooty paina room ki thesukellina….thanu bayapaduthundhi….water ichi cool chesa… Koddisepu casual talk chesa, thank free ga undali ani….next hug chesukunna…nadumu pisikina….malli bayam ga chusthundi…..eesari kiss chesa. Grrrrrrrrrr,’ said Julie. *** Julie was waiting for me inside the little room when I arrived. Her hair was covered with a scarf. She gave me a sullen look and finally reached up and pulled the scarf from her hair. I gasped. Julie’s hair was *very* blonde, even her roots. She was even more blonde than me, and I’m a natural. She looked like she had traipsed in from an Asian trailer park. I struggled for something to say. ‘It looks very…ummmm…glamorous!’ I said. ‘I look like a vapid bimbo!’ she. She had divorced him a few years after that, and then finally realized her dream in life by marrying a richer, much older guy.Ten years ago, when I had just started my interior design business, I had gotten a call from his secretary, who set up an appointment for me without letting me know that her boss had married my dear "friend." This woman, whom I eventually came to pity, showed me around the house and signed me up without my ever wising up. By the time Andy showed up, that same superior.