Not half a minute after he had set off toward the hostel it began to rain. Erich returned to the room, dripping and coughing, to find Gustav there. H... was in a solemn mood and without exchanging a word Erich knew it was not down to their argument. It was something else. “What happened?” he asked in his least aggressive tone. “My father is dead,” Gustav answered softly. After a considerable pause Erich replied, “I’m sorry” and Gustav muttered his polite thanks. “I shall have to leave early. **********************************************************************************************"Iona?" James asked softly.Iona turned her gaze from the window to the bed where James had beensleeping until moments ago. Now, he sat up slightly, looking at her inconfusion. That was something of a relief."Hello, James," Iona returned the greeting."What are you doing here? Did ... did you save me from a car battery?"James inquired, both questions seeming to be sincere in spite of thelatter's. "She paused to catch her breath and then went on, "The more metal used to hold the diamonds, the more secure they are; the less metal used, the greater the chance for the diamond to reflect light. For this reason, platinum is often the metal of choice for diamond solitaires. The ideal prong tapers to a rounded point..."Half listening, Dutch wonder what kind of point her nipples came too, and then struggled to concentrate on Marcia's words."It should be smoothly finished, diminishing any chance. Honey. Tell me, what’s going on? Why are you ignoring me? Talk to me?’ There was an obsessive look in his eyes, she knew that look from when he was sitting behind the computer totally entranced by some bidding war over collectible football cards. However he didn’t usually look at her like that, the love from their marriage had long gone and usually there would be a look of disinterest or mild annoyance on his face when she was around. ‘Martin?’ She said once more. He still didn’t seem.