.cat got your tonge sweetheart?............"When Jim awoke the next morning, thankfully in his own bed, he caught awhiff of perfume that he recognised...as not being Maria's. Panicked, hequickly sat bolt-upright and looked at the space beside him on the bed,relieved to see that Maria was not there. He lay back on the bed andremembered that Maria was spending the night at the flat of herchildhood friend, Karen, and would not be back until mid-afternoon. AsJim lay there, memories of the mystery. I don’t know what, though. It’s a surprise.”“Kendall’s surprises are usually pretty fun, aren’t they?”I laughed and took another swig of beer. “Yeah, they’re fun all right. But that’s all we seem to do these days.”He looked a question at me.“We don’t talk that much. And it’s not just the work and studying. When we do talk, it’s usually about sex. Not that I mind, of course...”“Of course!”“ ... but I kinda miss talking to her about other things. I mean, Gina knows more about my life than Kendall. " How about ladies night out, then?" Wendy suggested.We decided we'd go for drinks (this was a special occasion, right?), and maybe have dinner at Wendy's apartment.I actually didn't discuss our date until we got to Wendy's place."OK, here's the scoop. First, we went to Okinawa. You know, that Japanese place where they cook at the table?" Yeah. I heard the food is good there." And healthy," I agreed. "Chicken, shrimp, vegetables, and rice. I couldn't eat it all. The chef was fantastic." So,. I stared at her and looked down at my body. Nothing had changed. "Yourso-called magic has not worked," I sneered. "Now stop this nonsense andrelease me!"She shook her head slowly. "It will start in a short time."She left me alone, but returned in less than a minute in the company ofa shrouded figure. As I gaped, the figure slipped the hood and let therest of the robes fall to the floor. It was Ephraim Vandervelt!"Ephraim!" I cried out. "What is this madness? I demand that you releaseme. The.