"May I join, too?" Dani asked. Xan nodded and we readjusted so Dani was in my lap and Xan sat on top. The little girl reached up and put a hand on eac... of our faces. She looked into our eyes with her brow wrinkled."I love my Mommy and Papa," she said softly. I glanced at Dani whose eyes had popped wide open. Xan spoke! Then she cuddled up in our arms and went to sleep. She spoke!Dr. Jan had always said that she was choosing not to speak and we were supporting her choice. There was nothing wrong. Sure there were times like when Ioverheard the 'boys' planning 'lad's nights out' or trips to thefootball and Grand Prix when I would secretly seethe with envy. Howeverthe thing that got to me the most of all was how easy they had it withnon of the worries about coordinating outfits or needing two hours toget ready for work. It was so simple for them, and the number of times Iyearned for the freedom to roll out of bed, have a quick wash, pull on apair pants and comfortable shoes and be out of. Besides, the nine thousand dollarfigure likely was not enough to complete the laser tattoo removal...andeven if it were, it would have left him with nothing for the Springsemester as he still had to budget for that. (He actually only had aboutsix thousand dollars extra after his spending spree with the girls).He decided to count backwards. To repay the fourteen thousand dollarsand get the laser removal, he would need about $25,000 - $30,000 or so.He was beginning with several thousand already. My mind ventured onto new ground, just wondering…I didn’t think twice as Sam kept hold of my hand and led me straight past my car and up to the door of the house. I didn’t say a word as she led me inside and invited me to sit while she put some coffee on. I sat at one end of a sofa, vaguely thinking that she just might join me when she had finished preparing the drinks.“Your folks out?” I finally enquired.“On vacation,” she called from the kitchen. “Back in three days I think. You want some.