‘No buts, no ifs, no further explanation. You obviously have been invited and you’re not supposed to let people down. Now get off your butt and go...’ You are left stupified, staring at the telephone like it was some alien piece of technology that suddenly arrived from Mars. She: I walk to the bedroom and sit on the edge of the bed. I look at the clock and know I have little time. I poke around in my closet, wasting time. I walk out to the balcony of our bedroom and sit. I know I should be. When he caught me smiling at him and returned the smile. “What are you smiling at?” he asked. “You,” I said, “You seem to love being in the kitchen.” “I do,” he said starting to cook the chicken, “I grew up with a single mom and two little sisters. I did most of the cooking so it just grew on me.” Hearing that a single mom raised him was new and I wondered if that was why he was staying with his wife. I wanted to ask, but now was not the time. “How old are your sisters?” I asked keeping up. I'll get you a check. Invest in Schwartz? Are you kidding? Have you seen what she ... OK, you probably do understand."Francine finally stopped talking and looked at me again. Then, she cocked her head to one side and looked surprised. It did not last."Damn. I get it. Who would have thought? I checked you out, you know. You have a reputation but you really are what Sheila says, a teddybear. God, she's good. This all happened the first day, didn't it? She took one look at you and handed you the. .. well o.k i said , what are you telling me ? she's my lover said zoe , i just wanted you to know before we took things any further , i simply said it's not a problem your private life is your own affair,do you want to talk about it i asked , can we have a drink asked zoe so yes we had a drink and she opened up a little, she wenton the say that her and julie were lovers, but for professional reasons it was easier to tell people they where mother & daughter purely on the grounds of their age.