” Just remembering was painful. Talking about it was worse.“For a long time I focused on nothing but work. It helped – at least for a while. The...President was to retire from office, soon and her wanted Vice President Brownbock to be elected to succeed him. They got their heads together and decided the ticket needed a young, fresh faced, outsider to draw voters who were not traditionally going to vote for Sam.“Once they announced that I was going on the ticket with Sam, the screaming and. And then, from across the pool, she said in a low, reverent tone, “Gail, I don’t really even know him. He’s just another man to me.”Jana and I were in the kitchen getting things ready for supper when I heard the garage door begin to open. I looked out just in time to see Richard turning into the driveway. “That’s odd.” I said to my sister-in-law, “He’s early. I can’t remember the last time he came home this early.”She let out a chuckle and bumped hips with me. “Maybe you should go wait in the. "Sit down."She looked at me, puzzled. "I have to stand or kneel," she said in a flat voice. "I'm not allowed to sit. The rules say I'm not allowed to sit. They punish me if I sit." I know," I replied, gently. "But it's all right if I say so. You can sit down." She did so, keeping her legs side by side, her feet flat to the floor, her knees slightly parted. She was wearing shackles around her wrists but her hands were chained in front of her. She put her hands in her lap and sat quite. That angel must have done a miracle on me, even if he kept the limp in place. I feel a helluva lot better now!“We should grab some grub while we’re at it, you know. All of us. But only one person should go get it. Two people, max. That way ... we don’t stick out so much this time. They’re looking for a group, not a duo or a loner,” David suggested.“Sounds good to me. If it’s okay with you, I’ll recruit someone else for the job, though. Jenny, Denise, Azita, several of us ladies are bound and.