In that brief instant he sees a mischievous smile in her eyes, but her face remains composed. "Of course not. You picked it sir."He briefly considers ...unishing her for insolence, but unable to help himself he chuckles. "Of course not. Well, I am. So...what should I do with you?" She waits; it is not her place to answer. "Okay. Stand up. Strip. No embellishments please."Matter-of-factly each piece of clothing comes off, neatly folded and placed to the side. Standing still before him, he lets his. Jack carefully lowered his legs and sat upright. Melody had him turn sideways as she held the leash ready to pull on it if necessary. Jack turned sideways on the bed and Melody began to remove the bindings on his arms. Once his arms were released, Jack groaned as his arms fell to his sides and the pain in his shoulders was broadcast to his brain. He could hardly move his arms. They had been held back behind him for so long that the change in position caused him some pain. He tried to move. ” She turned to me, “Rachel or Patrick?”“Either.”“Hi.”“I’m OK. Your parents have been both kind and tolerant ... Yes ... I suppose so. Look, I have several serious questions ... Of course you can answer ... Fine.” There was a pause.“Hey, Patrick! Rachel seemed to feel you should answer serious questions. Right. Well, first, where are you living? ... Same place in Darlington? You haven’t moved to Pennant Hills? Right. About two days a week? I get it. Smart ... Well, I think I’m a lot better .... They started making small talk, and somehow, Alison found herself explaining why she was so upset, actually telling a stranger all about the problems with her son."Did you ever think that maybe he was born in the wrong place?" asked the man, who'd introduced himself as Ed."What?"Ed drained a bit of the liquid in his glass."Maybe he was born in the wrong place," repeated Ed. "I mean, you still love him, right?" Of course," replied Alison. "But ... well ... I think I don't like him very much.".