Sure, she was gawky and clumsy, and kind of toothy, but with her redcurls and in her fluttery white tank and long baby-blue peasant skirt,it was so ob...ious she was going to grow up to be gorgeous. The onlything that spoiled it was her near-panic."This is so stupid," she whispered as we walked up to the kid's house.I snorted, even though what Sarah had said was exactly what I wasthinking. I told her, "What's stupid? This is what kids do. We'rekids. Therefore, we're doing it."Actually, I was. But I’d promised her I wouldn’t. I changed my pants for these because ... look don’t tell her! Because the ones I was wearing were my only clean pair and I didn’t want to wear smelly pants all day today. These have been used ... and turned inside out. Pleeeasse don’t tell Erica, she’d be disgusted and it would ruin her first time doing that with a boy”“Nah, that’s not true. There was Daniel at the Youth Club.”“No, he was a wash out apparently. Couldn’t kiss and then nearly got caught with her. ”Sir Alistair was still a bit confused.He remembered the soft sweet flanks of the young lad and he wondered if he might have strayed from the path of decent behavior with the person that had rescued him from a cold and snowy grave in the wilderness.“Might I inquire your name, fair lady? I owe a debt of gratitude to your brother. May I assume it was you that occupied this bed last night instead of your handsome brother?”The beautiful Queen told him her name was Gretchen but did not reveal that. I didn’t want to give her too much, as I had heard it wasn’t good for the baby if the mother drank. I figured one shot shouldn’t be too much though and thought it would calm her down some.Returning to the living room, I found Julie still seated near the fire as I had left her, but now she was bent forward, at least as far as a pregnant woman could bend, and still crying.“Here Julie, take this,” I said and I held the shot glass up to her mouth and tipped the contents in. The liquor must have.