The portrait had been done only a little over a month beforehand.We looked up at it for a short while later, but as soon as we turned around there was...another portrait waiting for us. One that was a little more difficult to look at. There were four subjects in the portrait, just like the last one, though only three of them were Scyftan. The fourth? A little white phenidae named Vixa.Our mother looked absolutely radiant. Radiant in a way that only a pregnant woman can look, and that was. You’re getting a little ahead of yourself aren’t you?’ I blew out a breath, moving my bangs away from their perfect position on my forehead. James leaned in close and brushed them with his fingertips. I was about to blow him an air kiss when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jenny looking at us suspiciously. I decided to play with her a bit and leaned in close to kiss James on the check. I purposely landed my lips near the corner of his, leaving a big red imprint of my wet kiss. James, bless. Gail learned that girl’s name was Joy and the girlfriend of Greg, Chris’ best friend and football teammate. She may have been Greg’s girlfriend but she managed to be next to or near Chris whenever possible. That and the fact that she laughed at all of Chris’ jokes, funny or not, meant that she must have a schoolgirl crush on her boyfriend’s best bud. A complicated situation to say the least. Gail did not understand what any girl saw in Greg. Yes, he was a star football player but he was also a. I don't really recall. They were not memorable dates. In college I had fared even more poorly, never having had a date at all. It was not that I was shy, but that I was not exactly forceful. When any girl I asked out said no thanks I took that as a no and never bothered to ask again. Perhaps she was being coy. Perhaps she expected pursuit. It was beyond me. I just moved on. One time and one time only I got lucky. Belinda must have been feeling lonely, and she asked me to come back to her.