Melody walked in near the conclusion of the story with a sippy-cup ofjuice for Cindy and a fresh bottle for me. Cindy politely thanked hermother and s...oved the sipping spout between her lips. I dropped my rattleand accepted the heavy baby bottle, and spat out my dum-dums. "Fank you,Mama," I shyly mumbled. I thrust the nipple in my mouth and instinctivelylay on my back to suckle down some sweet apple juice, clutching the pinkbunny against my body. I didn't see the quick condescending smiles. She thought she’d planned everything so well that it would run like clockwork but Murphy’s Law had prevailed. ‘Why did I ever get the idea of a family reunion?’ she wondered aloud. It had started four years before when Liz had inherited the farm from her grandfather. The outbuildings had been rather dilapidated, along with areas of the house. With little money at her disposal, Liz had concentrated on getting the house sorted out and the overgrown yard in shape. Then she had been hired full-time. We talked of friends, boys, girls, our families, and things that were going on in our lives.Renée was the middle child of four, and Terri the younger of two. We were all juniors in high school, struggling a little with the social scene—we were sexually active and had to hide it—and had different ideas for our future, which is a fancy way of saying we hadn't made up our minds yet. We all agreed that we would probably continue swinging. It's an addictive lifestyle. You're under very little social. Beth had things of her own to say, ending with a statement that she knew I could become an excellent volleyball coach if I wanted to but that I had so much potential, she saw much more challenging things ahead for me. She didn't say anything anyone could point to, but I know she was saying goodbye.Jack came up behind me and rested his arms on my shoulders. "Find anything interesting?" You goober. How did you come up with all this so soon after I dove into the boards this afternoon?" I didn't..