I think this time we can say these were two sick days though. Is there anything else?" Who are you going to get to replace Shirley, as your assistant?... I think I'll use this new girl in accounting, why?" I wanted you to give Shirley's job to me. She said I should ask you. I could go back to the order desk when you go back to school, and mom says she doesn't really need me right now, if you want me to work with you."I don't think that would be a good idea. I don't want to leave the order desk. She represents the school.” Wayne felt Judith stiffen and then slump against him. “We’ll change drivers in Keswick and send you back by bus so you’ve got a place to put the crate.”“Terrific. One more night sleeping sitting up for that damned crate.”“I’m depending on you, Wayne. I know it’s rough, but we’ve got to get the goods.”“Yeah. I’ll bring it back, dead or alive.”Jim moved back toward the front of the bus. Wayne looked up at Judith. She glared back.“So,” she said acidly, “spend your first. But, the more I tried to dismiss it, the more I dwelled on it and the more I needed to know.It had even gotten to the point where I’d found myself standing outside the bathroom door once with my hand on the knob ready to barge in with the intention of catching another quick look.I know how all this sounds.One night, I’d come in from a late dinner with the girls and found Brian asleep on the couch in front of the TV in just a T-shirt and his boxers. I leaned over to wake him and tell him to go. It wouldn't do for some of the neighbors to wonder why the hell people were flitting back and forth like this, without being all dressed up.He tried the back door and the knob turned in his hand. There was light filtering down the hall from the living room, so he followed it quietly and stood just inside the archway, peering around. He saw his mother sitting languorously upon the couch, her long legs stretched out and the dressing gown fallen away to expose the alabaster grace of her thighs..