'I want you to stay on the ship'. This met with a volley of protests from the Captain until the Commander mentioned the Admiralty and the Captain relu...tantly backed down.'Take John with you', the Captain told her and Helen nodded.Feeling uneasy, I grabbed the sword from the cargo ship, and then descended the rope ladder with Commander Helen to reach the wooden jetty.No one from the village had dared venture onto the wooden pier but a sea of expectant and anxious faces lined our path to the. Her smile remained a permanent fixture on her face. ‘Apology accepted as long as you don’t make any more assumptions.’ ‘Except one,’ I ventured, ‘we are still going to talk later about Jane.’ ‘That is not an assumption, it is a fact supported by evidence.’ I saw a spark, a twinkle in her eye, and did I feel her tighten her hand on mine? We went back to the viewing room where Lucy introduced me to mourners who knew Jane. The funeral and burial were bittersweet, I was the only family member. The hair dryer cut the time they had to wait for his set to dry. John brushed it out the way Connie had shown him. He looked terrific, for a girl, he had to admit to himself. Maybe he should make his escape in this outfit? Shoes were his only problem. He didn't have sneakers. He was spending a lot of time in front of the mirror. That was ok. Actually that was more then ok. He was getting used to the way he looked and that was an important step. Connie smiled when he turned sideways to look at. " You have not asked about the remuneration for your time." John said."I guess you are going to make me an offer, and right now any offer is one I can't afford to turn down." Pete told himThey agreed terms, and John said to him, "Do a good job on this Pete and prove to me I can trust you, and I may be able to find you more permanent employment with a guy who would be great to work for, though you may need to be ready to move to another state. I can't say any more about that just now, but.