As the bus got underway, he introduced himself to his new seat mate. "I'm Tom Sutter," he said. "Major General, U.S. Army."The girl smiled at his feeb...e witticism, took his outstretched hand, and said "Delores Gallegos, Broad-Assed Marine!"He smiled. She had no trace of a Spanish accent, so he decided that despite the Hispanic ancestry, she was probably as established a third-generation American as he was. "Going home?" he asked."Afraid not," she replied. "I've been home, and now it's back to. I had lost serveral friends overthe years in training accidents; I almost found myself lip-syncing to thepriest's prayer.Much of my sadness was not for the loss of my crew, but the fact my ownwife and daughter had not shown up for the ceremony. It had been a twoweeks and I had been unable to determine their whereabouts. Liz was notat the shelters; in fact, she was never admitted. The house was empty andshe had not been to the cabin. My ability to interact with people waslimited as I was now. She saw my frown and pulled me close."Awww, Chrissy! It's OK. You are so sweet to care about Mommy. I promise you that the aches and pains of womanhood are nothing compared to the joys. There is nothing more beautiful in this world than being a woman and a mommy."I stood by her for a few moments, caressing her breasts, as if that could ease the pain after all. A strange mood came over me. I felt so close to Mommy, and a little sad – that I couldn't be closer still."Mommy, would you brush my. "Have you heard the latest news now that we're in our final month here?" No," Ann said, puzzled, "Tell me," she insisted."Is something supposed to be different during our last month?" Oh, yes," Lisa said, with a knowing little smile.Then she explained the last month's little rituals to the quiet little Accountant sitting across the table from her."Usually, in the last month on these far-flung projects, everyone sort of lets their hair down, and things tend to get a little wilder." In what way,".