* * *A few minutes after his bride slipped from the party, Freddie was left alone at the bar when Carly went and joined the girls who were in the mids... of an argument over men and women being friends. He considered weighing in, but the idea of getting into that mess just made his head hurt.His gaze danced across the room, anxious to see if everyone was enjoying themselves, but for the most part, people were keeping to tight knit groups. That's when he noticed that Sam was nowhere to be. ’ Miraculously AJ remained an ass virgin despite numerous attacks to breach that bastion. At times only the desperate plea, ‘I’m saving my ass for my wedding night’ had saved her. But now in the company of Mr Nice Guy, AJ felt she might feel obliged to yield. After dinner AJ attempted to take Chess to her room but security was guarding the door. The beefy guy said, ‘Hi Chess, residents only. In you go AJ.’ AJ who’d never seen this particular security guy said, ‘You know me?’ ‘Everyone on campus. Oh, we were going to pay Lee well to run the company, but I was going to keep my hand in now and again. Having to do it this way is like..." Almost like abandoning a child," his wife finished for him. "But the doctor has been adamant that Arthur could not continue with the stress. Please don't misunderstand us, however. We're flattered and very grateful for the sum of money you're offering, but you have to understand, we've done this almost our entire married life. Arthur has a talent for this. And my mother's happiness. The airiness of my mother in those pictures didn't really surprise me. On the other hand, I was disappointed and jealous. I wish I had known from her, I wished she had told me instead of leaving me a box. I wanted to be part of that world. Or better, I'd like to be able to create for myself a relationship like theirs, a relationship made of intimacy, airiness, love, happiness. All things that at forty I hadn’t found, yet. I wasn't ready to talk to Peter. I needed.