"Did you ever imagine this when Weena spoke to you in that hotel lobby?" Not in a million years. I owe you guys everything. Everything." You take care...of her." Yep. An' she'll keep me in line." Go and greet your guests."Once everyone had greeted and congratulated the couple. I stood up and banged on a glass with a fork. It quieted down quickly. "I know you all want to get to really drinking, but I was the best man, so it's my job to make sure everything goes right. Weena and I have known. "Are we all set?" Sarah whispered. I nodded. "You didn't tell the bitch anything, did you?" I shook my head. "Ok. Now I will step out of the front door. You keep Rita in her own bedroom for next 10 minutes till I come back in through the back door and hide in our closet. Then you bring her into our bedroom. Ok? Think you can do it?" "Sure" I nodded. "Don't screw it up or I will throw you outta my house." she threatened me. "Of course not."I stepped quietly into mom's bedroom. She stepped out. For the first time in his life, the anger that he held towards his father was caught off balance. He asked, “What?”“I’ve dealt with a lot of nasty people and a lot of good people, all of whom showed their strengths and weaknesses. The cop in me looked at their demonstration of strength and interpreted your lack of involvement in big events as a symptom of weakness. I just realized that you’ve never had the opportunity to show your true strength by facing something bigger and uglier than you.”. It had been a warm summer, very warm.And the earth quakes had been frightening when they came, especially since this country was not really designed for them.The worst one had been a week ago, a major quake that had preceded a large hole more than a mile across, appearing about sixty miles away. It had taken a whole neighbourhood with it, and people had died.The satellites in orbit around the planet were constantly scanning the surface, looking for weak spots and heat sources, any sort of clue.