“Sorry for the pretend voice but didn’t know if you would answer ha ha." He was wearing a robe and thick white socks as far as I could see but th...t was it. He seemed tipsy but not really drunk. “I lied to the girls and pretended to bring someone home to get away from them, as I wanted to see you.” he said quickly as if he had been thinking about what to say for a while. “It’s late Joe.” I said trying to be sensible. “Ok, I know, sorry Jim,” he said meekly” but just sit there for a minute.”. When they had finished, Kim gathered the dishes, placed them on the tray, and carried it into the kitchen.Sally followed Kim into the house. Their moms were sitting in the breakfast nook, drinking iced tea."Where is dad?" Sally asked her mother."He and Uncle Don had to go pick up a couple of things," she said, "They will be back soon."Marge said, "Are you two ready to try on your new school clothes?"Kim answered, "I guess so."The four women got up and went to Kim's room. Marge and Anne carried. As a majority shareholder in Allied insurance group Walcott, saw the resources available at Continental and was the driving force behind getting Adams moved over to Continental. He made a gob of money in the merger and retained his income stream by forcing Adams on Continental. It was truly a win-win for that oily bastard. Once again, Clifton Adams was forced into servitude by Walcott’s with the threat to his mother’s safety as the leverage. When the stress became too much he tried to end the. The red lines looked angry, again. It was as if the top of my head was a road map, with all the roads colored in red. To avoid the stares, I kept a smooth skullcap in my pocket and was quick to don it when around strangers. I still remembered the looks of pity when Mr. Bell took me to court to get my emancipation.I was fairly along in my pity party when Millie appeared at my side. "A penny for your thoughts?" She said, handing me a shiny new penny."Trust me, they're not worth it," I said,.