Ab bas wo mujhse chipak kar bethti thi or me bhi unhe kisi n kisi tarah touch karta rahta tha. Kuch din esa hi chalta raha.Ek din meri sagi mami ka bh...i car lakar aaya. Mami ke uncle ke larkon ki shaadi thi isliye wo unhe or tino bacchon ko apne saath le gaya. Isse agle hi din mama ji ki tebiyat or kharab ho gai to mene saari information meri sagi mami ko di. Mami ke bhai car lekar aaya or mama ji ko hospital me admit karne ko kaha. To mene kaha ki aap saath me nani ji ko le jaiye hospital me. "Hey! I have an idea. Why don't I pick you up after you get the girls off to school. We can bring your washing over to my place. I have a Washer and Dryer down in my basement," Craig said."If you do them over at my place—this way, while they're washing—we can spend some time together," he said, with a hopeful smile.Julie felt her stomach do a little nervous flutter. I feel like a schoolgirl going on her very first grownup date, she thought."Well... , with Lacy in preschool and Aimee in 1st. You heard Dorothy. And Joyce?Remember how frazzled she was before you started helping her? Yousaved her life! And you miss her lovely kids, don't you?"I nodded. "So you're saying I should go back to being Maria?" Well, why not? Maria has far more people who know her, and like her,and need her than Dave does." And what about you?" What about me? I lived happily with Maria for six months! You knowit didn't make any difference to me. I don't care how you're dressed.You're my partner, my. .."No, but thank you," she said. Or at least, that's what she tried to say. Her teeth were chattering too badly to form words, and only then did she realize how cold she really was. The driver pushed the door open more and she climbed in, holding her pale, shaking hands to heater vents until the numbness faded.The girl came into the cottage and set her basket down. The air was thick with a scent she did not know, but it was warm and there was a fire on, red flames licking old blackened logs..