"I love you, Rich. It may be too early, but I don't care," she said, wiping her tears on her wrists. "Thank you. You're ... the first person I felt I ...ould ... talk to about it. You didn't know him ... you never met..."He interrupted her. "I wish I could ... meet him, I mean." Rich suddenly felt hurt, and couldn't explain why.Lily shook her head, confused. "Why?" Because ... he was someone important to you." See? That's love too," she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "But if he were .... ’ ‘I don’t want to run the risk of having you need help and not be able to wake me.’ ‘There is a simple solution, get your night-gown on and use the other half of my bed. I promise that I will behave properly. You’d be safe.’ Mary grinned and was back and ready to sleep a short time later. ********************** It was a good sleep. Almost a full week passed before the roads were all cleared out. Mary was obviously becoming depressed. It came to a head during dinner one evening. ‘George, when. She brought in a variety of lifesavers and said, “Children, I’d like you to close your eyes and taste these.”The kids easily identified the taste of cherries, lemons and mint, but when the teacher gave them honey-flavored lifesavers, all of the kids were stumped.“I’ll give you a hint,” said the teacher. “It’s something your mommy probably calls your daddy all the time.”Instantly, Little Johnny coughed his onto the floor and shouted, “Quick! Spit’em out! They’re assholes!”So Little Johnny’s. I can't help liking what I like, can I?" "I guess not," she admitted, "and you do look nice. I meant that.Do you do this a lot?" "Yeah, I guess so," I confessed. "I never feel real good aboutmyself as a boy, and when I do this, I like who I am and how I look.You're the only one who knows. Please, please don't tell anyone, Linda!You know the boys at school would tease me and beat me up if they everfound out." "Don't worry, Andrea. I won't tell anyone. Is it ok if I call youAndrea? You sure don't.