Bill he swore he would tell you everything about that night if I didn't see him again." So why didn't you tell him to stick it," I demanded "or tell m... yourself come to that?" I couldn't," she cried "I knew it would hurt you and I never wanted that to happen." Christ!" I exclaimed "And you don't think I'm hurting now? You've lied to me already Ruth, don't you think that hurts? How many times have you met this man and his friends?" I've only met his friends twice," she sobbed "but I've been with. Vanessa summarized by saying, "We told them some facts about you, but they're only just starting to absorb some of the implications. They're handling it well, and I don't believe they'll become so angry that they try to pull Ava out of the relationship."The conversation moved onto discussing the Wests' health, which I listened to carefully because I didn't understand hardly anything about what was going to happen to them.In the course of that discussion Vanessa suddenly said, "Mark, can I have. I’ve done it before when I had a big project and it didn’t cause a problem. But even better, I heard from your construction friend, Mr. Brown. He has a remodeling contract for an older house on Michigan Avenue. It has some very intricate borders and other painting that is seriously damaged. He wants me to look at it and see if I can repair it. You know, match the faded colors and fix the spots that are chipped, or cracked or whatever. I’ve never done that, so it’ll be a real challenge. I’ll. "I was still in a daze, and the confusion in my head wasn't getting any better. I suggested that we take a walk to clear our heads, hoping that the exercise might help us both sleep a little better that night. It was a warm night for April, and even though we needed sweaters, we left our jackets behind. Striking out on the trail that led around the lake, we walked closely together, Joanne's arm around my waist and mine over her shoulder. The silence combined with the warmth of my sister's body.