Also, if it becomes too much, at any time, just say 'please, ' and we will wait for you to say 'OK' before continuing. If you ever want it to complete...y stop, just say 'stop.' Other than those words, I request you say nothing. Tonight is about you listening and hearing, not speaking. Listen to our words, listen to our reactions, and accept the truth of what we see and appreciate. Do you have any questions or concerns to address before we start?" No, I'm fine. I've been relaxing and doing deep. The library work was boring as usual and I gladly left at 3:45. When I entered the lobby, Francesca smiled, “Paola is ready for her break. I’ll tell her you’re here.”“And that won’t be a problem?”“She’s a grown woman, as are we all.”I went to my room and soon she knocked. I let her in and she smiled, “Great news. Marco’s got friends in town, so he’ll slosh home tomorrow about 10, I expect, unless I have to bail the bugger out of jail. I can stay until midnight, if that’s okay with you.”“Of. Uneasy at his distant manner, Sophie copied him, peering hard over the cup’s rim and accidentally slopping tea down her chin. Grabbing for a napkin, she dabbed at herself, swallowing back a curse. Feeling her face flush crimson – sometimes she hated the porcelain skin which accompanied her red hair – she licked the tea from her lips and flicked an embarrassed glance at Cole. She was shocked to see him scowling at her, his hot gaze focused on her mouth. Sophie couldn’t stop her lips parting in. The front room of the bigger house was the focal point for our sad reunion. I walked into the room searching for coffee and was greeted by the din from the gaggle of kids playing around the legs of the more tolerant adults. I scanned the room looking for the adult females feeling self-conscious as hell. My mother was there with her married sister and her daughter Betsy, one of my cousins.My younger sister Zoë saw me come in and grabbed a cup and filled it with life sustaining liquid from the.