“Hitchhike?”“That’s not safe,” the redhead pointed out.“Safety in numbers,” Karissa smirked and showed them the knife, safely back in it... covering.“Wicked,” said the blonde with a grin.“Scary,” the redhead said.“That’s the point, Cheryl.”“I guess.”“I’m Karissa,” Karissa told them, since it was the first time names were mentioned.“Randy,” the blonde responded.“Randy?” Karissa asked.“Short for Miranda,” Cheryl informed Karissa.“What a beautiful name,” Karissa commented.“Whatever,” Randy. I caught him just before he opened it, with a hand on his arm. He seemed surprised to see me.“We need to talk, Slick,” I said.“What’s your problem, man?” he asked harshly, no trace of a French accent in his voice, as he jerked his arm away from my grip.“Problem?” I asked, “No problem. Not yet, anyway. Let’s have a quick chat.”He glanced inside then stepped back. I indicated a patio table and pulled out a chair for him. “Sit. This won’t take long; then you can go back to what you were. "Honey, all I said is to at least listen to the teacher's point of view. Shehas a hard job." You think you're so fucking smart." Her eyes are darting back and forth."You're a fucking pervert. You get off on humiliation and you think you'regood for our son? Dad's a pervert!" she practically shouts.I pray that Bruce is out of earshot. I hear his door shut in the distanceand hope he has turned on his stereo to blot out our yelling."I'm going to tell the kids," she says getting up."C'mon, don't say. But we are both in a much better place, a better frame of mind now than we would have been otherwise.”“I think you are better off with Sandra than you would have been with me,” I said.“And Lisa is far better for you than I would have been, too. Despite all the heartaches both of us have been through, things have turned out well for us. Now, if you don’t mind, I might go back down into the cabin, it’s starting to get a bit cold up here!”“Okay; thanks for the talk, Allison. You’ve given me a lot.