That put him just on the tall side for five year old girls,and Thomas was worried the x-rays would soon show Joe's bones weren'tdone; even after losin... nine inches and half his body weight.Thomas tried to be gentle with Joe during the examination, but it wasabout as invasive as you could probably imagine. Starting off withgeneral touch sensitivity and reflex tests, Joe soon found himself beinginspected in every crevice. When that meant having his butt cheeks pulledapart to check his rear. "But... the procedure is how we--" Please just continue," said the rich man. "He is clearly impatient,and frankly so am I. I have waited too long for this day already."Suddenly the man's concern for haste no longer seemed so endearing. Justthen, the receptionist came barging back in."Wait!" she shouted. "I figured it out! I know what's wrong! Stop theprocedure!"The rich man glared daggers at her."He didn't read the contract!" she continued. "Or the banners! Or theterms of service. . After we got inside I thought, "What a big house this is! It's huge and filled with people walking around drinking and having conversations."We made our way through the crowd over to the bar in the kitchen. Michael got himself a beer and I ordered a wine cooler. We walked around the house for the next hour checking out all the rooms. There was a game room with billiard tables and videogames, an indoor pool, a large theater with a stage, several living rooms with oversized couches and reclining. But someday...”“Hopefully. I should head out to the porch; Tabitha will be here any minute.”“Bundle up,” I said. “It’s cold.”We exchanged a quick kiss and I walked with her to the foyer. She put on her winter gear, and looked out the window. She saw the car, kissed me again, and headed out for work, carefully walking down the steps with her walking cast which she’d be done with in another week or so. I waved as she got into the car, then shut the door, and went to the sunroom to cuddle Birgit.