"I looked at her sternly "Good! You can ask my forgiveness and for me tohelp you again."Her spirit was broken, for the moment. "I'm sorry! Forgive me... Pleasehelp me." Her voice was broken. She held her head docilely over thebasin and let me wash her hair. It had been long and straggly for a manso it might be only another few months before it was close to most otherwomen's. As it dried I combed it, trimming straggly pieces and cuttingout matted parts. Eventually I passed the comb and brush to. There was grumbling, but it was explained. They were told that while I would treat accidents, a multiple stab wound to the chest and stomach in a fight, was not an accident. Everyone was on their own, in that case.As soon as I could head back to my own time, I was going to do it. I would put my tent, fully erected if need be, into the 'between'. Then I would make the trip back. I was scared and unsure of myself. I really did not want to live in the early 1900's. I wanted to go home to my own. “When you were alone with him, what did you talk about?”I thought she was going to ignore me, her pause so long. The car tires hummed on a rain-drenched road, puddles of standing water spraying out to the side. Hard-working wipers swished back and forth, the road ahead clear, then spotted, then distorted, then clear once again.“We talked about school. Dad told me he was proud of my grades and asked about dance school. We talked about you. He told me he wouldn’t replace you so I’d better learn. In the beginning he thoughtit would have been a matter of days before he could find a new jobsince he was highly qualified but the crisis proved to be strongerthan he expected.Fortunately Anita was able to go back to her old work in theboutique. She was a top fashion designer and they were very happy tohave her back. As a result the house was very badly maintained and itreally looked quite messy and dirty. And of course Bob was not at allin a 'housework frame of mind'."Dinner is ready," Anita's.