As the music started, Kathy danced out, her long Nun's habit flowing around her. She twirled and interleaved with three of the other mothers, as Sarah...herself danced out to be the mother superior."This is fun!" thought Kathy to herself, enjoying the feeling of her body as it swept through the air. Since starting dance lessons, she had become much more graceful and her motions had become so much more confident, fluid, and feminine. "Most improved," Sarah had said.Finally, the opening dance. Bounder had already established herself with areputation for tracking things along the Intergalactic Freeway when shehad helped to discover several of the lost Transports.One thing for sure, security was going to be much tighter for a longwhile. I hoped that they were successful in catching the Assassin andwhoever had hired them before anything happened.Of course, I had confidence in Maddie Grey. And if she had called inMidge she must believe the Girl had some skill or talent that she neededto. He could smell the cookies that had just finished baking, a plateful was sitting on the mantle with the usual glass of milk. He could see the snow falling outside the house, the large flakes dancing in the glow of the front porch light. He took a half-second too long. ‘Are we gonna start?’ Grace asked. ‘Sure,’ Tim said. ‘You go first.’ Grace opened the book — a book that she had owned since her fourth Christmas and no longer really needed to use — and began to read. ”Twas the night before. She winced, "A little strong for me. I'll be falling over. I'll have white wine."And our evening began. She quizzed me over my life, work, women. We talked about parents and old friends."I've missed this," she said."Missed what?" Oh you know, sharing a bottle of wine. Relaxed conversation… with a man."I smiled in response and caught the barman's attention for another bottle. We were both relaxed in each other's company. We were positioned at the bar so that her knees were angled towards the bar.