We thought she was just hogging the food.In the delivery room, she put daddy through hell!Grace and I were present for the auspicious occasion. Well, ...n the family waiting room; someone had to babysit two year old CharlieB. The terrible twos in a Quiet Hospital zone?Daddy actually got to be in the torture chamber with Lucile. Our hospital has great soundproofing but the acoustics were never designed for Lucile Louise Austin in full spate. We heard every curse-word and body-shot she inflicted on. His factory sat idle for lack of parts that cost only a few yen each. His company was under attack, and he had no answers.The phone sounded a single chime. "Yes," the old man said."Nakiro is here to see you," a female voice emanated from the phone's speaker."Send him in," the old man replied gravely.A much younger man, large compared to most Japanese and wearing an impeccable, thousand-dollar western suit entered the room and stood before the desk, bowing deeply. There were no chairs."Please,". That was when I suddenly remembered Mark. I looked across at him and giggled. The joint in his hand had gone out. He was just sitting there holding it, still, frozen, gazing at us with a look of sheer astonishment on his face. Eventually I found enough breath to speak. “Why don’t you light that thing and bring it over to me?” He jumped up so quickly he almost tripped, then stepped over to the couch. I could tell he was trying to play it cool, and to be fair he was making a pretty good job of. "I don't know. It will probably just be myself. I live alone now and the few people I can actually call my friends all have people to be with. I am...used to being alone," I answered.I felt Jully's hand on mine; reassuring. She knew I would sink into depression every so often. Part of why she invited me to do things with her. Jully offered me one of her wonderful smiles. The table we sat by had one large circular seat, like a corner booth at certain restaurants. I shifted closer to her, so that.