I hope I look as good in the flesh," I found myself saying."Better," he smiled suggestively.They didn't head straight for me, instead, John went to th... fridge, and retrieved a bottle of wine, and some glasses, whilst Tom fumbled with something on the sideboard.I sat on the bed and waited sheepishly, until John turned and walked over, and sat down next to me with two glasses of wine. He placed one on the nightstand and then turned to me. He placed one hand on the small of my back, and raised the. “Out of respect for you Jacob, we haven’t brought up the details of the last visit from Avery.”Respect for Jacob. Jack squinted one of his eyes a little and watched Michael, watched where his eyes went, what he did with his fingers, how his posture changed. It certainly wasn’t a happy respect, more like a begrudging one. And Jacob returned it with a nod, a begrudging thank you.“Indeed. We do not want a repeat of last time,” Antoinette said. “Avery is now the leader of her own pack, and has. I applied myself and got a good education. Thanks to my quick mind, my excellent memory and a lot of hard work I graduated Summa Cum Laude.I considered hanging around long enough to get a graduate degree. I enjoyed school. I was anxious to stop being poor, though, and I received some very good job offers as graduation approached. I took the job which offered the highest potential for rapid advancement combined with the best salary and benefits package. I was off to climb the ladder to success.I. They both seemed relieved when Nicole finally rejoined them. She was bubbling with excitement about the graduation and the fact she was going to start law school in Berkeley in the fall. Sarah was pleased that Nicole was going to be living with her, at least initially."I know dad still loves you..." Nicole's voice trailed off as her mother dabbed tear-filled eyes. They drove silently along Highway 1 for a few miles, enjoying the sun and beauty of coastal California as they traveled north to San.