”May 26, 1984, West Monroe and McKinley, OhioOn Saturday morning, Clarissa, Liz, and I ate breakfast together, then sat on the patio to drink tea un...il it was time for me to leave to get Maggie. I’d considered saying something to Liz about my talk with my mom, but I decided that, in the end, there wasn’t a reason to belabor the point either way. So long as my mom left it alone, I could leave it alone. Clarissa walked me out to my car.“See you around noon, right?”“Assuming all goes well, Yes. Do. "Hell no. Gail's a widow and really doesn't want another man in her life, save only for the occasional itch scratched," Emma replied."Seems damned strange to me. I don't think I could share or even know. Look at what happened the last time," I sighed."Oh, I think Sam would love a go at Gwen at least," giggled Emma. "But he won't mind if she says no either." He doesn't really do anything for me, not like my David ... or you Emma," Gwen replied with a sultry smile."Until today a woman hasn't done. I talked of how the boys in our form wanted her, lusted after her, but were in awe of her beauty. How we all worshipped her. ‘You too?’ she asked. ‘Yes, me too,’ I replied. ‘but now I know you, I care about you and how you feel.’ ‘You love me?’ ‘Yes, of course I love you. I want your happiness, I’m doing this because I love you.’ She made a small contented sound. Then, ‘I think I’d like to go to bed now.’ So we stood up, and she embraced my neck and I her waist and we kissed at length, soft. "It's me, Chris, Keith! Keith Bradley! At least I was - I'm Miranda now.God, Chris, I never stopped thinking about you!"Keith?! I couldn't process this. Keith had been my close friend; we didalmost everything together. And then, just after his fifteenth birthday,his family moved away suddenly, overnight. With no forwarding address.That was five years ago, and he had never contacted me. The whole familyhad just disappeared."Miranda! Why are you dawdling again? Come along, or we shall be late!".