Mom should be here in a minute or two to pick me up, I know its late, and I figure it’ll be tomorrow before you can have her done for me,’ I babbl...d nervously. ‘Seattle? Last I heard from you, y’all were back in Arkansas. Where’s your better half at, anyway?’ My eyes welled up, as they always did when anyone referred to my late husband. It took me a second to reply to his innocent question. ‘He’s gone. He just didn’t wake up one morning last year. The doctor said it was a miracle he lasted as. C Frenchie became what everyone thought her be all along – A Vietnamese Communist sympathizer.It was no more an unusual circumstance than to be expected in the storm of confusion that was Indochina in the 1960s.Ice was Frenchie's livelihood.The Americans never asked where it came from. They only knew she was dependable. The fact that she never tried to cheat them impressed them the most. Honesty was a virtue difficult to find in the helter skelter chaos of war torn Vietnam.Of course, you could. But it was the glowing eyes that made Otrera gasp.For just a moment, she knew she was dead. She could see the glow, the reflection of yellow light blasting against the leaves and cool night moisture. She could even hear it. Like a surge of fire caught in a wind blast, the yellow light spread outward from Medusa and filled the darkness of the forest clearing.Otrera threw herself backward, and scampered. Hiding behind a tree, she held her knees up to her chest, and stared out into the shadows. With her knees shaking and anger rising in her she realized her nipples were stiff and there was a tingling between her legs.Erin forced her best smile as James answered the door. The Ward's house was immaculate and impeccably decorated. Ellen pushed drinks into their hands and herded everyone into the large backyard. Clouds drifted across a blue sky as the smoke rose from Justin's grill. Lazy breezes carried the smells of cooking meat and steaming vegetables. Jacob was glued to Justin's side.