” She takes a deep breath, “This job may be risky to start with, it may be hard work, but it’ll work and be profitable. Gordie has never failed ...t anything. He’s nine, nearly ten, years old, and he’s just about to qualify as a medical doctor. He’s worked his way through all of the medical technician levels and he’s now finishing the doctor crossover course. Many older people doing the same courses are well behind him and some have dropped out. You work out the risks for yourself. But if it were. It was worse than if he'd yelled or screamed or ... anything. I sucked it up, knowing I'd brought it on myself, that I deserved it. I let him get too close, I was too weak to stop it, and then I couldn't even tell the lie that would keep him away. And still I wanted him, painfully so. Twice while we walked I teared up and had to run off into the bush, pretending to need to pee, so I could cry it out. I'm sure I looked like hell; my eyes were probably red and puffy, my nose swollen from blowing. He purred!"You've got only two or three hours to stop that," he said, and purredsome more.She did not do it for that long a time, but he felt wonderful when shestopped, and he stood there for about three seconds before he crossed hisankles and sank to the floor cross-legged, the same way she had earlier."Thank you," he said, looking her with a dreamy smile and his eyes onlyhalf open. "What did you want to show me in this room?"She smiled, "You wanted to know what's so great about being a girl?. " I hung up. Caroline gave me a look."A friend?" she said."Let's go," I said, ignoring her fishing expedition.Denny's wasn't crowded. We took a booth in the back. The waitress came; the food as ordered arrived; we ate mostly in silence and then settled in to talk."You look nice, Caroline," I said. I knew I sounded formal, but it was how I was feeling. She noticed."Dad, I'm you daughter, not some stranger's kid," she said, reacting to my tone. I nodded."Yeah, but you're living with some stranger.