"Fancy a barbeque mum?"That was a silly question, but her reaction still made me smile.She jumped up and clapped her hands like a kid."Yes, oh great, ...ome on Jill, let's go to the shop and get some lager while Tommy starts the Barbie."I was still swearing at the bloody thing when they got back with a dozen cans of lager and yet more vodka, giggling and whispering to each other as I prayed to the god of homemade barbeques."You know that denim skirt of mine that you like me wearing?"Mum was. No, sir, printer cartridges would be in computers, over there." Why don't you bring her along?" I said, trying to salvage the embarassment of my evidently pathetically miscalculated attempt."You serious?" Sure. It doesn't have to be a big date. We could go get some pizza and beer, the three of us. Just have a good time, that's all." I kicked myself for having said "that's all" so soon.She thought for a minute. "Why not."We had a fun night and Danni was a charming 8-year-old, cheerful and. It took just a couple of minutes to get from the Marina to the house. We could have walked there in ten minutes but would have had to either cut across the Sea Star base or walked along the side of I45 where there were no sidewalks. Not a smart idea in the best of times, that.The landscaped section of the lot made the whole thing look deceptively small. The hedges that separated one part from the next made it look like the property were really three long and thin parcels. In reality, the three. " The trees with their purple flowers are beautiful." Said Michael. "Those are Empress trees Michael. It is a tradition, that when a Japanese couple has a daughter, they plant an Empress tree. When the daughter is ready to marry; the tree is cut down. The wood from the tree is used to make a dowry chest, and other wedding gifts. Throughout the Orient, Empress trees are believed to bring good fortune to the household and all who enter it.” They went into the main building and walked down a dark.