. uh ... I mean, obviously she didn't take it very seriously ... and..."She ineffectually slapped at his hand as the tears started again. "Oh, never m...nd, you big oaf. I know you didn't mean anything by it. I'm just a little upset right now."He put his arm around her and gently pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head lovingly. "I know, sweetie. I'm sorry."Jaimie sniffled and reached for a paper napkin from the chrome dispenser on the table. She wiped her nose delicately, and dabbed at. "Listen to me, slave. That is finished- over. This is a new start. But I am puzzled. You are not stupid, you speakpassable French, you learn quickly - so why did you go to the special school?" He waited until she finished swallowing. "Umm, m-my social worker, errshe said I was uhhm educationally s-subnormal, sir." "Then it seems to me she was wrong, n'est pas?" "Umm, oui sieur." "D'accord." Marek paused to sniff the brown paste in the bowl andwrinkled his nose in disgust. "What does this stuff. In fact, most social interactions irritated him. He didn't play well with others.He acknowledged to himself that his rapid rise through the ranks had more to do with gaming the system than diplomacy. His rise also had a lot to do with his ruthless drive to accomplish his mission. He tried to ensure his missions matched the Army's assigned missions, at least superficially, most of the time; General Branch was a driven man.He used to be called Bobby when he was young, a state that he had to. Except something changed my day forever. I got up and made my way downstairs to the kitchen where my family was already sitting. My dad had his back to me, cooking our breakfast. "Morning Daddy. Good Morning Pete and Bob." I said while getting out some orange juice. "Good Mornin. Sugah," Daddy said while turning around with a smile. "Happy Birthday dearest," Daddy said and gave me a kiss on the checks. I smiled, "Thank you daddy." Daddy put a plate of pancakes and a bowl of fruit down as I sat.