‘For the weekend?’ ‘For good.’ Mike shook his head. ‘What did your mother say?’ ‘What do you think? First my father leaves her and then ...y sister ditches college. She’s a wreck.’ Mike thought about Claire O’Neil, Jim’s mother. She was a pretty woman, his mother’s age, and she had always been nice to him. But she had always had problems with Ashley, Jim’s sister. Maybe he would stop by and talk to her, to see if she needed anything. He had known Claire most of his life and had always liked her.. "Youchanged me into this, losing your own confidence and power in theprocess?" Something like that," Todd said simply.I looked up into Todd's eyes and saw for the first time a need to beloved and needed, a hunger for something more real in his life, and thehope that he might find it here. I reached my hand across the tableand took his hand in mine."Thank you, Todd," I said. "Thank you for tonight."Our meal came almost on cue and we ate and talked more. I can'tremember exactly what we talked. It wasn’t new but it was a vast improvement over my old junker. She always snuggled up next to me when we were driving. We were both turned eighteen and were getting ready to graduate from High school. The night of her eighteenth birthday, I took her to a good restaurant and then to the drive-in movies. For the first time, we sat in the dark together and made out. We had learned that French kissing happened everywhere, not just France. She took my hand and placed it on her breast. I gently. He had already aided Vidon in destroying the Pompoff clan there were maybe 10 or 15 left now, plus the rouge mage clan Prat, 2 clans but they both knew there were another 28 clans out there, most were small but together they made a hell of an army.Jonathan left an hour after his 'guests did, he still had a few friends to contact, and supplies to gather for them. If he was right they'd try to kill him before the judgment, as if that was going to happen. Feeling his anger rise he felt his control.