I was still in the bike shop but ready to leave. "Good timing Jen, I'm ready to get back out into the world. So what's up?" I had a feeling I knew alr...ady."Looks like we are going to have some new residents here in good old Aster," she said cheerfully."So which one of them are you screwing?" I asked."You know I don't do women, unless somebody puts me up to it and nobody did. I didn't screw James, but I did screw a friend of a friend." she admitted."So you are going to take care of the paperwork. The next morning I was the first to wake, so I got dressed and walked down to the kitchen. My grandparents were already up and drinking their coffee, so I joined them. One by one, everybody made their way down. After a few hours, Stephanie hadn’t come down so mom went up to find out what was wrong. A little while later she came back to say that Stephanie had a headache and wasn’t feeling good. She wanted to stay in bed, so mom let her.Since granddad had his heart attack, not too many things had. Her assessment of her bodywas interrupted by the look Josh was giving her. He was gazing at herwith a mixture of longing and love. She was touched by his love for herand she reached across the table to stroke his cheek, tilted his chinup and looked into his tear-filled eyes."Josh, you're the best thing I've got in my life and I'd do anything tohelp make you happy." She leaned across the table and gave him amotherly kiss on the cheek. "I just wish that I could return thelonging I see in your. "I have to think," Alicia then said, hoarsely."Take all your time, honey," Angique answered, secretly despairing. "All your time."It was three weeks now since that call. When the days went by in utter silence, Angique's despair grew into near certainty that she had lost the girl — again. She wouldn't try and call her, although her thumb often hovered over the speed-dial button on her cell phone. She imagined what might be going on in the girl's mind. And she cursed herself for having been too.