He put the box down on the table and smiled. “You might be needing this soon.” I glanced inside. Tampons and some packs that seemed to contain pan...ies. Nodding I reached out for the panties to check the size. While on the streets my period had become more than irregular, sometimes I had gone months without bleeding. Now, with a healthier diet, it should be back to normal soon. I glanced at the pack and froze. There was a picture of a dog on the package. Panties for a bitch in heat.Blushing with. .. unsettling. I was unsettled. Okay, maybe I was a bit scared too.Mum looked accusingly at Dad. “You didn’t tell me they were lovers. When you told me about it, you made it sound like you had these three beautiful girls hanging all over you for the entire evening – panting in lust for you. Looking at Bec’s picture, it’s pretty clear that two of them weren’t all that much interested in you. And we know Pearl is more interested in your son than she is in you.”Dad sat up straight and tried to. “Just one more question. Who are these people in my husband’s firm that have so much influence?”“I can’t reveal my sources.”“In which case, I have to refuse. Sorry beautiful, we have always been a team and made decisions together, but without being certain, he could be bluffing. I’d rather risk your career and call his bluff on mine.”“Okay, before I tell you. Why are you so interested in who my contacts are?”“Oh, silly, that’s easy. It’s so my husband can sack them.”“What do you mean?”“What do. When he did, he also surrendered her to her fate. The one she had chosen or others had chosen for her, making her believe she was the owner of her own destiny, the shaper of her life. “Whatever happens, remember I tried to stop you.”“Out of love?”“Out of despair.”She nodded, her eyes brimmed with tears and her hands before her in a vain gesture. She realized then they were still at her doorstep, and she had forgotten to ask him in as they had stepped out of each other’s lives and had become.