When things finally did settle down around 2:00 am, it was the four of us left hanging out, chatting and laughing away. I was on one end of the couch,...Peter was on the other. Paul was in the recliner next to Peter, and Deb was across from the couch on our ladder backed chair. We had all had our fair share of liquor by this point so the conversation was pretty open with respect to topics. "So Peter. Did you see any married women you liked tonight? Any new targets?" Debbie teased. "Oh come on,. ‘Take me home with you.’ He said. ‘No.’ I said slightly breathless from our first kiss. He leaned in and kissed me again. ‘Take me home with you.’ ‘My apartment is trashed. Take me to your place.’ I countered. I hadn’t expected drinks to turn into dinner, and dinner to turn into more drinks. It was as much the conversation about time and space, intertwined with the discussion about the illusion of reality, and my suspicion that there was hidden depth beneath his quiet exterior, as it was the. At that point I said, "Gil, I have had someone else working on this from the beginning. He is a data systems expert who has helped me with some pilfering at the store before. I think he's even worked with some of your guys before. From what I know of him, I think he might be able to break that encryption."Gil looked amused, "Jeff, this encryption is world class. Who could you possibly know locally that could break something like that? The guy you know may be a pretty good hacker, but this stuff. She was so special and dear to me, and I was the luckiest man in the world. I looked down at her and my body reacted. Something primal and elementary took over. It’s difficult to explain, but in that moment, looking down at my sweet Mal, I was overwhelmed. I felt the need to protect her, to provide for her, to make her happy in every way she could ever want. It must’ve been the ring and knowing that I had claimed her, but I just lost it. My pace quickened. Her hands interlocked around my neck.