Disappointment welling with in me.Then suddenly I was staring into the eyes of a woman. My neighbor. She smiled at me as she walked by allowing her he...d to rest on me for just a moment longer than would be normal before she turned away and walked down the stairs. She was very quickly followed by her boyfriend who I had spoken to once or twice before on the stairs. I saw the O form on his lips as he almost scurried past after his girlfriend. Quickly coming to my senses at this point following. She looked good.“You’re growing up,” I said, for reasons I didn’t think about at that moment.“You said that last time you were home. How much could I have grown in one month?” she asked, giving me an impish grin.“Enough that I have to ask how many hearts you have broken since I saw you last,” I said.“None.” She shrugged. “You know how Mom always says it’s a bad idea to have a serious boyfriend until I get to college.”“Yes,” I said, getting a spoonful of lasagna, “but I also know how often you. ”I felt comfortable in taking my mother’s hand to lead her up the red carpet and into the hotel lobby. It was early in the day and the lobby was almost empty.“Welcome to our island paradise,” said the distinguished looking man behind the check-in desk. He was dressed in a full tuxedo, which seemed out of place considering the humid island weather.“We have a reservation under Moss,” said my mother.The desk clerk typed into his computer and said, “Ah, yes, Mr. and Mrs. Moss.”I started to say that. Bolting upright, Joan clasped the sheets to her chest covering her nakedness as she frantically looked around the room. She needn’t have worried. The room was empty – save for herself – and the bed beside her cold. Obviously, Marcus had been gone for some time. Disappointed at finding herself alone, Joan tossed back the sheets, slipped into her robe and hurried across the room. Eager to see Marcus, she gave the door a cursory knock before letting herself in. ‘Humph!’ Joan let out a grunt of.