On my way past the chief I let him know where I was taking her.We came in the door and Kim was there. As I set Tammy down still crying on the couch Ki... sat next to her and held her. Kim gave me a puzzled look and I mouthed 'later' to her. I sat next to Tammy and held her along with Kim. Tammy's crying continued for about a half hour at which time her tears started to ebb and change to gulping sobs. When she had finally quieted down I noticed that she had fallen asleep. We laid her down on the. .. yeah, I spilled a little wine and tried to wash it off in the kitchen,” I lied.After all the insufferable previews, the movie finally flicked to life. I reached across my mother and turned off the lamp at the end of the sofa. Now the room was lit only by the glow of the TV screen. We sat quietly, watched the movie and ate the pizza. I don’t know about my mother, but I was very much aware of her thigh touching mine. I could feel the scorching heat of her body against my leg. When I had eaten. But the food is here.Oh, that's right, it's the bland menu. Still it's better than soup andJell-O. Let's see. There was a poached egg, oatmeal, toast and theever-present green Jell-O. Oh well. Sounds more like breakfast thandinner. Looks like bland again tomorrow, from the menu. You'd thinkit's a weight watchers diet or something." "Cris, I'm back." I heard Mom say. "Oh, hi Mom." I answered, "Were you here earlier? I have a vaguesense that you were." "Yes, Dear." Mom replied cheerily. "I was. Although it suited Dahra, Lissa and many of her co-workers had tried, unsuccessfully, to get her to change it. She had ignored them all. Her hairstyle, short in the front and sides, and shoulder length in the back, was as much a part of her as her brown-flecked lavender eyes.Tall for a docren, Dahra was five foot eleven in height, had a moderate build, and wore garb typical of a portaler: a green loose-fitting jumpsuit, with knee length legs and short sleeves.For the ninth time Dahra scowled.