“Oh, shut up and shower,” I chuckled.“I forgot my shampoo on the counter,” she said.I slid the curtain back and reached out to grab the shampo... bottle. I tried to hand it to her and she just shook her head.“Jeri, this can NOT go there,” I said.“Go where?” she said coquettishly, arching an eyebrow.“OK. Now I think Jeri Lundgren was kidnapped by aliens and replaced by a Beta Unit!”“I loved The Last Starfighter, but if you keep talking, we’re going to have to skip breakfast!”Jeri had me completely. The wives of the Scythe saw themselves as the valued members of a tribe rather than as slaves. They cared for their men and loved them. The sight of a woman happily embracing her male lover returning from battle brought dread into the heart of Tecmessa. The young Amazon had been shocked. Apparently, these women loved men. And surprisingly, the men loved them back. They were free to leave. Yet they did not. There was a bond between men and women that Tecmessa had not known could exist. Tecmessa. He had a strong jaw and bright green eyes that lit up when he turned to her and smiled. “Hey! I’m Jacob,” he said her politely, laughter lines on his face creasing slightly as he spoke, “How’s your day going?” “It’s going all right thanks, yours? I’m Lily,” she replied, her cheeks turning a soft pink with surprise as she felt a surge of attraction toward him. “It’s going pretty well. I think it’s just taken a turn for the better now too! I’ve seen you a couple of times around the park but. He grew morose and uncommunicative, and took to spending long periods away from our apartment. Although it was difficult for me to see him physically disappear in this way, it was even more tormenting to have him present in the house in body only, while the essence of him, the beautiful spirit that I loved so desperately, had obviously moved out. I did not confront him at first, hoping as I did that his withdrawal was only a matter of some stray mood, or some necessary passage of the artist.