Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Long ago this was just an untitled idea...  and I started a journey here...
things happened and I thought I had lost my way back to this space, so I
started another called Oblivion, then more things happened and I thought I
would have to start again, Dancing in the Fire...  then I found what I had
thought I had lost...

   I think I'll keep this one here, it's from a different time, from
another cycle in my life.



   Love's Canon by Oblivion

   Chapter 1

   "Mr.  Jacobs?"

   It was a lazy Sunday afternoon in late June and I'd been napping in the
hammock in my backyard when I heard Natalie call.  I opened my eyes to see
her standing by the hammock, looking down at me.

   "What's up, Natalie?"

   "Mom sent me to ask if you wanted to have dinner with us."

   "Well if she's asking, I guess I can't refuse, can I?"

   Natalie laughed at that, she knew her mom, those "invitations" were more
like commands and if I didn't show up I'd catch hell for at least a week.

   "Ok, Nat, when should I be there?"

   "Mom said now."

   "Ok, I'll grab a shirt and be right over." I swung my legs over the edge
of the hammock and started to get up.  I looked up at Natalie as I did and
saw her eyes go wide as I felt my shorts catch on the edge and pull hard to
one side.  I could feel the breeze as my cock and balls dropped into sight.
Her face started turning red and I saw her nipples get hard under the loose
shirt she was wearing.

   "Sorry Nat, that wasn't supposed to happen," I explained as I reached
down and straightened my shorts, making sure things were back out of sight.
Natalie was 14, going on 30, according to her mom, and as cute as almost
any 14 year old could be.

   "Uh, mmm, it's Ok, Mr.  Jacobs...  uh, it's not like you planned it or
anything..." By now the blush she was flowing down her neck and out of
sight under her shirt.

   "Come on, lets grab my shirt and get going, don't want your mom mad at
me." I started moving but Natalie stood like she'd grown roots.  "Are you
coming?"

   She was still staring at the hammock, then shook her head a little. 
"I'm, uh...  I'm embarrassed, Mr Jacobs.?

   I turned back to her.  "Nat, you don't have anything to be embarrassed
about, you didn't go peeking, it was an accident.  You're old enough that
I'm sure you at least seen pictures of a cock before if not a real one, so
no big deal, I'm a guy and I have one."

   She looked over her shoulder at me.  "You're not embarrassed?"

   "Nope, it's just a body part, nothing that no one has never seen before.
Everyone has a body you know."

   "Yeah, but they're not all the same." As she turned to face me her tight
nipples were very well defined under her shirt and it was obvious that even
her ears were red now.

   "Only in the details Nat, only in the details." I took her hand and
pulled her after me and headed for my house to grab a shirt.  By the time I
had my shirt on and we were out my gate on the way next door her blush had
pretty much faded.  She had an interesting look on her face but looked fine
otherwise.

   As soon as we entered her house I heard Hiromi, her mom, call her.

   "Nat, would you go out and get the ice cream out of the freezer so it
can soften."

   "Sure, mom." and she was off.

   Hiromi rounded the corner coming out from the kitchen with a platter
full of fried chicken, she looked over at me and smiled.  Hiromi and her
girls had been my neighbors for just over eight years now, they, along with
Hiromi's husband had bought the place about two years before my wife had
died.  Hiromi's husband had disappeared less than a year after they had
moved in.  He had packed his things telling them he was going out for one
of his deployment cruises and headed out just like any other time.  Three
months later when Hiromi checked to make sure the monthly deposit had come
in they found out that he had turned down his re-enlistment and had just
disappeared.  Now, a little over seven years later, no one had any idea of
where he was.

   "Ben, would you go help the girls bring the rest in?" She continued on
to the dining room as I headed to the kitchen.  Kimberly and Jenna were on
their way with the mashed potatoes and gravy so I grabbed the corn on the
cob and followed them.  Kimberly, at 16 was the oldest, she'd be turning 17
in December and Jenna was the youngest, she'd just turned 11 in May.

   I heard Natalie come back in from the garage as I left the kitchen and
told everyone that she'd probably be right behind me.  We all sat down in
our usual places and waited for her before starting, except it ended up
being several minutes before she got there.

   "Sorry Mom, I had to go." She blushed a little and took her seat next to
me, her mother was at the end with her sisters opposite her and I.

   "Since you're last Nat..." her mom replied.

   Nat asked for a blessing on the food and gave thanks, then we dug in. 
The girls could eat, it always amazed me how well, you'd think they'd be
chubby little things the way they could wolf down a meal, but they'd always
stayed slim and willowy.  Hiromi on the other hand had slowly been gaining
weight the last few years, she wasn't fat so much as plump now, when they
had moved in she had looked a lot like Kim did now, slim, shapely, and very
sexy, but in the years after her husband had left I think she just gave up.

   As we ate the girls talked about what they were doing for the summer
while Hiromi and I just listened.  Jokes were passed around as well as a
couple of playful insults that everyone knew were just for fun.  I really
liked it that the girls got along as well as they did.

   About halfway through the meal I noticed Nat glace at my crotch, when
she realized I'd caught her she gave me a sheepish grin and turned back to
her food.  A few moments later she adjusted herself in her seat, pulling
her left foot under her, semi-cross legged.  The result was that her shorts
were now gaped open on my side.  And it only took a glance to see she
didn't have her panties on.

   The rest of the meal went by and I noticed Nat glace at me several more
times, but I never let her know that I'd noticed what she'd done.

   When dinner was done we all carried the remains to the kitchen and as
the dishwasher was loaded Hiromi got bowls of ice cream ready for each of
us, then we headed out to the back porch and sat and talked more as we
enjoyed desert.

   After about half an hour I excused myself and went home.

   Thinking about what had happened between Nat and I that day had put me
in a pensive mood and I found that I needed some comfort, so I opened the
doors to the music room and went through my ritual.  The music room had
been my wife's, it had been her passion, and in her memory I kept it.  My
hands gently held each of her three cellos in turn, my fingers tracing all
the places hers had been.  I leaned into each, remembering the warmth of
her, and cried.  When the moment passed I checked each of the cellos to
make sure they were still in tune, then the violin and viola.  When I was
done with them I moved to the baby grand and just played with the keys,
remembering...

   The first time I'd seen her was Christmas time my junior year at
college. I was shopping for my latest girlfriend and as I had roamed the
mall looking for the "right" gift I stopped to listen to the music being
played by a string quartet in the center court.  There she was, playing her
cello, her golden hair almost dancing as she played.  It was obvious that
the others in the group followed her, she was the one with the passion, and
she made her instrument sing in her hands.  I think I stood there for an
hour or more that day.

   It was just before Valentines day the next time I saw her.  She was on
campus, coming out of the music school.  I think I had been more nervous
that day than when I'd asked a girl out the first time in High School.

   She was majoring in music of course, with minors in philosophy and
business.  I was an engineering major with my minor being art.  It started
with coffee, talking and me attending her concerts and somewhere along the
way we found ourselves in a motel in Virginia Beach.  I don't think either
of had any doubts after that weekend and it was only three weeks later that
I moved in with her.  We married that summer and worked and loved through
graduation and then grad school.

   She ended up going for her MBA while I got my doctorate in Physics.  We
both got good jobs, bought our house, traveled a lot and then settled into
making that house into our home.  When it was done we knew what we wanted
next and proceeded to enthusiastically work on having our first child.  It
didn't take long.

   Rachel was seven months pregnant when her company sent her on a trip to
Canada to go over the books of a company they were interested in acquiring.
It was going to be her last trip before her maternity leave.

   And that was where my life ended.

   The facts were simple.  The plane crashed.  Everyone died.

   It was probably close to a year before I woke up.  Not that I slept all
that time, or was in any kind of coma, but I sure wasn't living.  My job
had let me go but that was ok with me, work just didn't matter any more. 
Money never became a problem due to the insurance settlements.  I had no
idea then what they were, and didn't care, I just signed the paperwork the
lawyers gave me and let her and my parents handle the rest.

   One morning I woke up and realized that I needed to do something and
started wandering the house trying to figure out what it was.  Everywhere I
went it was clean, tidy and well cared for but I couldn't for the life of
me figure out how.  I knew I hadn't done any of it.  It was when I looked
through the French doors into her music room that I knew.  It was the one
room that time had forgotten, dust covered everything, dead flowers hung
over the sides of the vases they'd been placed in.  When I tried the door I
found it locked.  I remember sitting there on the floor, just looking
through the glass, until I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

   It was Hiromi.  She didn't say a word when she placed a key in my hand,
then turned and left.

   That was when my ritual was born.

   Finally my fingers tired and I let the sound die, the sun had set, how
long ago, I didn't know.  I closed the doors and went up the stairs.

   --

   I woke at my usual time the next morning and headed out on my morning
ride.  I coasted down to the river walk then as I warmed up I started
putting the miles behind me.  The complete circuit was just over 22 miles
and I'd been doing that for a couple years now, almost every day.  Even in
the winter snow.

   It was a bit after seven when I rode up to the garage and put the bike
away.  I looked over at the Harker house but didn't see any lights or
movement.  It was summer and it seemed like the girls were already sleeping
in.  I knew Hiromi would be at work by now so I striped off my riding gear
as I went through the laundry room and stopped in the kitchen for a glass
of juice.  It wasn't until I turned to head for the bathroom that I saw Nat
standing in the archway between the kitchen and stairwell.

   "Morning Nat." I took the last pull from my glass, set it on the counter
and walked past her and up the stairs.  I wasn't sure, but I don't think
she blinked even once as I went by.

   After getting in the shower I wondered why she was here this early, but
only a little bit.  I figured she was wondering about yesterday and what
had happened, and what she thought should have happened.  When I finished
up I put on my normal warm weather attire, shorts and a light t-shirt, and
went back down to make my breakfast.  Nat was still there, but she was
sitting at the counter.

   She wasn't saying anything so I just ignored her and started fixing eggs
and bacon.

   "Mr.  Jacobs, doesn't it bother you that I saw you naked?" Her voice was
firm, but I could sense a sharpness to it that hinted at how fragile her
resolve was.  I decided to push things a bit.

   "Nope, this is my house, you weren't invited and weren't expected, so
anything you saw was because you didn't have the courtesy to make sure you
were welcome."

   "But...  but Mr.  Jac..."

   "But nothing young lady, you intruded upon my privacy without a single
thought to what the consequences might be, for either of us.  Frankly, I
couldn't care less that you saw me naked, but the law says that because you
did I can now be arrested and thrown in jail.  For some stupid reason they
think that I'm supposed to know that kids like you do stupid things and
should never give you the chance to figure things out for yourselves."

   The sound of sobs, punctuated by mumbled phrases that sounded like "I'm
so sorry" and "I didn't know" started flowing behind me.  I let them be the
background as I flipped the first two eggs and three slices of bacon on a
plate.  Then I turned and placed it in front of her.

   "Nat, shut up and eat.  Next time, make sure you think before you do
something, OK?"

   I turned back to the stove and started my breakfast, again.

   "But.."

   "Nat, a butt is what you sit on, not the excuse for all your mistakes."

   "But..."

   "Nat, eat."

   I heard her get up and get utensils for both of us and then refill my
glass and get one of her own.  When I turned and put my plate on the
counter she was eating, slowly, alternately trying to wipe her nose, so I
reached over and pulled a paper towel off the roll and handed it to her.

   "Eggs taste better without the snot you know."

   The paper towel had just reached her nose, fortunately, as she snorted a
laugh and blew all that snot out.  She wiped her face clean then gave me
what I'm sure she thought was a "very" stern look.

   "That wasn't very funny."

   "Oh, it got your nose blown, didn't it?"

   "Yeah, it did."

   "Seriously, Nat, you're old enough now that you have to start thinking
things through more.  Not every situation is going to be simple anymore, or
straight forward.  What do you think your mother would have said, or
thought, if she had seen what you did at dinner last night?"

   "You did see..."

   "Yes, I did, but if I had "noticed" do you think your mother wouldn't
have?"

   "I didn't..."

   "That's right, you didn't..." I left that hanging for a while and
started eating.

   She finished before me and just sat there, watching me.  When I finished
I took her plate and mine to the sink, washed them and the utensils quickly
and put them in the drainer to dry.  She got up and refilled her glass.

   I leaned back against the sink and looked at her.

   "Nat, I meant what I said yesterday, everyone is pretty much the same,
our bodies all have the same basic things and they don't vary all that
much."

   "But all the girls at school look so different, big boobs, little ones,
some so flat the girls cry when they get teased, hair between legs that
look like a mop and some look like silk even..."

   "And..."

   "...  and mine so bare it still looks like Jenna's."

   "Maybe, but you are only 14 Nat, and won't turn 15 until February.  You
still have time to finish growing up.  I seem to remember that it wasn't
that long ago the you were pretty flat chested yourself, and that changed
in how long?" Less than a year ago Nat had probably been no more than a
"AA" cup but now, she was definitely pushing a solid "B."

   "uh...  three months."

   "Yup, that seems about right.  So, don't think that just because things
are what they are now, that they aren't going to change."

   "Ok."

   With our breakfast done, and I guess most of her questions answered, for
the moment, Nat excused herself and went back home.  I watched her as she
walked away and couldn't help but enjoy the way her butt moved.

   --

   I was working on the wheel in my studio when I heard a soft rap on the
door jamb.  I looked up briefly to see Hiromi and nodded to her.  I knew
she wouldn't disturb me while my hands were on a vessel I was forming.

   Once I finished the pull I was on I slowed the wheel a bit and rinsed my
hands in the slip bucket.

   Hiromi broke the silence first, "I wanted to thank you for how you
handled that last night."

   "Have you talked to her about it yet?" I asked.

   "Did you?"

   "Yeah, this morning.  She kind of forced the issue."

   "Then I think I'll keep out of it."

   "Are you sure?  You know she's gonna keep wanting to know more, and
maybe push things further."

   "I know Ben, she's not at all like Kim...  and in a way I guess I'm glad
about that.  Kim is too much like me and that worries me."

   "Hiromi, you made a mistake, you know that now, but you don't have to
pay for it for the rest of your life." We had talked, a lot, in the years
since Rachel had died, and we'd become friends.  It had been Hiromi and the
girls that had taken care of me during those dark days.  It had also been
Hiromi that had discovered my secret, Rachel's and mine.

   "I know..."

   I let the silence linger and went back to work.

   She stood there watching me for a while before she spoke again. 
"Tonight, please..."

   "Ok."

   I heard her leave and found I wasn't in the mood to finish the vessel,
so I collapsed it, cleaned the wheel and tossed the clay into the scrap
bucket.  I couldn't fault her, I had my ritual, she had hers.

   --

   The next morning after my ride I found Nat sitting on the back porch.

   "Mom knows, doesn't she?"

   "Yes, she does."

   "And you didn't tell her..."

   "She's smarter than you think Nat, you should know that."

   "Why didn't she say anything?"

   "You'll have to ask her that yourself."

   "I can't..."

   "Natalie..."

   "I know...  I know Mr.  Jacobs, I do.  Can't is just an excuse for not
saying "I won't."

   "So, if you know, why do you keep using it?"

   "It's just so hard..."

   "I never told you it would be easy you know."

   "Mom says that too."

   "I know, we both thought it was something that bares repeating
sometimes."

   "Arrrrgggg.....  you guys just love making this hard...."

   "Nat, understanding new things isn't hard, you just have to stop
thinking that you already know the answers first.  Now, I'm getting
chilled, so I'll see you later." She was still fuming as I went inside, but
I'd wanted to leave her struggling a bit, I'd always found that insight
comes more often when I was too busy trying to prove I was right to notice
it, until it hit me square in the face, that is.

   I stopped at the washer and stripped off my riding gear and tossed it in
the basket and was turning for the kitchen when the door burst open, and
Nat, red faced and sputtering right behind it.

   "Damn it Mr.  Jaco..." the pitch of her voice rose so fast it became a
squeak.  She stood stock still for several heartbeats then took a lung full
of air, her chest rising.  "Damn, damn, damn, damn, why me..."

   I couldn't help it, I laughed.  Long and hard.

   I was still laughing as she started pulling her own clothing off,
muttering under her breath as she did.  When she was done she planted her
feet I bit wider than her shoulders put her hands on the swell of her hips
and glared at me.  "Look at me damn it....  " her voice was almost a wail,
"what's wrong with me."

   My laughing had stopped as she'd undressed so when she insisted, I did
look.

   At 14 Nat was developing well, she was, and always would be petite, but
to me at least, that was an asset.  I was sure she wouldn't share that
opinion though.  Her hair was like her mother's, long, so black it had blue
highlights, straight and thick.  She had the almond shaped eyes of her
heritage as well but her face wasn't as Asian as her mother or her older
sister.  I thought the mix was very beautiful.  Her breasts were small,
capped with areola that were about twice the size of her very large
nipples. Her belly was as flat as I would expect with her being an avid
swimmer.  Her hips had a swell, but nowhere near as pronounced as a lot of
girls her age.  Her legs though, filled out that swell smoothly without any
obvious transition from waist, past hips, to long lean legs.  Between her
legs was almost completely bare, from where I was I could see only a few
dark hairs on her mound, and none on her labia.

   "Nat, I know you don't want to believe me, but I don't see a single
thing wrong with you, and an awful lot that's just right."

   "but..."

   "No buts, Nat, you asked my opinion, either accept it, or don't ask
again."

   She thought for a few moments before responding this time.  "Mr. 
Jacobs, why don't any of the boys I know look at me like they do other
girls?"

   "First, since we we both seem to be standing here naked, I think you're
old enough to start calling me Ben.  Ok?"

   "Uh, Ok."

   "Second, do all the boys look at every girl the same way as you want
them to look at you?"

   "Well...  no, just the girls with the big boobs, mostly."

   "Are there girls they look at like that, that don't have big boobs?"

   "Yeah," her head started to fall towards the floor.

   "And...?"

   "The sluts," she whispered.

   "Oh, so you want them to see you as a slut?"

   "NO!"

   "Oh?  From what you just asked me it seems like you do."

   "B...," she sighed then.  And I waited.  "Ben...  it's just...  it's
like I don't exist."

   "Ah, but now, think about this...  is it all the guys who don't see you,
or just certain ones?"

   This took longer.

   "Two, there's two that..."

   "you like." I continued.

   "Yeah."

   "And all they seem to see are either big tits, or sluts?"

   "That's not fair, they aren't always like that."

   "Oh?"

   "OK!, Yes they are like that, does that make you happy!"

   "No, and it doesn't make you happy either, does it?"

   "No..." she started sobbing.

   I crossed the few feet between us and hugged her.  We stood there for
several minutes before I broke our embrace and took her hand in mine.

   "Nat, I need a shower.  If you want to come up we'll talk more while I
do that."

   She held my hand as I led the way upstairs to my room and into the
bathroom.  Once there I got the water going and stepped in, closing the
glass door behind me.  Neither Rachel or I had been squeamish about our
bodies and the big shower had all clear glass around it so I knew Nat was
getting a look at things she had probably never seen before.  As I washed I
did see her looking, trying to be discrete as she sat on the toilet.

   "Done crying yet, Nat?" I asked.

   "Yeah."

   "So, what's on your mind now?"

   "Aren't guys, supposed to, you know, get excited and stuff..."

   "About what?"

   "You know, when a girl is naked?"

   "Like you are right now?"

   "Yeah...  so, does that mean you don't think..."

   "Nat, just because I don't have a boner right now doesn't mean I don't
like how you look.  Guys your age probably wouldn't be able to stop
themselves, but that also doesn't mean that they like you either.  Just
that they're horny shits that don't know what they really want."

   "What do yo...  I mean, what do you like about me?"

   "Do you really want to know?"

   "Yes."

   "Stand up then," when she had, I continued, "I like that you're always
going to be smaller than most girls.  Both in your hieght and your breast
size.  I don't care for big boobs, I think they get in the way.  I also
like how your nipples look when they're excited." She started to blush as
her nipples did start hardening.

   "I also like how your body is as a whole, how your bones don't seem to
poke out at awkward angles or anything, and how your waist flows into your
legs almost seamlessly." She moved her hands from her hips and starting
just below her breasts, she let them slowly slide down her sides.

   "And last, I like that you don't have much hair, down there.  I've
always liked the bare look."

   As her hands reached as far down her legs as she could go she slowly
spread her legs and bent to look closer at her sex.  I watched as her hands
softly explored those folds and did feel myself hardening.  I was saved
from embarrassment when her hair fell in front of her face, while crying,
she had apparently gotten fresh snot in it.

   "Oh, damn, now I'll have to wash it again," she said as she reached for
a hand towel to try and wipe some of the offending goo.

   "That's up to you," I replied.  I turned my back to hide my erection.

   What I didn't expect was the cool rush of air as the shower door opened.

   "Nat, what are you doing?"

   "You said it was up to me."

   She was right, I had said that.

   "Move over." she said, and I did, again working to hide my erection.

   She started rinsing her hair and I thought I'd be able to escape until
she asked for the shampoo, it was behind her, and she was running her
fingers through her hair, lifting those small pert breasts in ways that the
running water...

   "OH!"

   I was just reaching past her for the shampoo as she saw my hard cock.

   "Sorry," I mumbled.

   "It's Ok," came her strained reply.

   We were both now obviously aware of my erection and it didn't make any
sense to try hiding it any more.  For her part, Natalie didn't actually
stare, but she did keep glancing at me, my face, then my cock.

   She worked the shampoo in while she took her looks then backed under the
water to rinse.  Again, her raised arms did wonderful things to her body.
The swell of her breasts, the water running down her flanks, the way her
mound pushed forward, soapy streams flowing over and between her legs.

   "Be...," she tried to choke out.  "Uh, Ben...  conditioner, please."

   This time, as I reached past her, she stepped into me, bringing her wet
body into contact with mine.  Her head was just below my shoulder and I
felt her hand lift my cock so it wasn't poking her belly.  Her hand
disappeared and she leaned harder against me.  With the conditioner in hand
I squirted a large amount out and started working it into her hair.  As
long as her hair was I was quickly running my hands almost all the way to
her ass.  With each stroke she seemed to want to mold herself further into
me, her breath was ragged now, her arms clinging to me.  When she started
to undulate her body against me it took only seconds before my cum burst
between us.  I could feel my cock pulse and the very warm sensation as
spurt after spurt filled any space it could find.  It wasn't until then
that I noticed that her right leg had gone between mine and she was humping
her mons against my left leg.  Moments later I felt her tense and then
slowly relax.

   With the moment past she stepped back away from me and I saw her run her
fingers through the goo on her belly.  I knew it would be getting sticky in
the water and was soon washing her front as she started rinsing the
conditioner from her hair.  I tried avoiding her breasts, but she didn't
let me.  Twice she took a moment to pull my hands up to them and to hold
them there.  I gave up and let my hands wander where they willed.  She
gasped the first time my fingers ran through the folds of her sex, but not
all the times after.

   When she had finished her hair she started washing me.  By then, the
semen that was left was a very sticky mess and she took her time as she
made sure every gooey gob was washed down the drain.  Even the ones she
found on our toes.

   We didn't dry each other.  For some reason the incident ended once the
water stopped.  That was Ok with me.  I hadn't lost control like that in...
since Rachel had died.

   Nat looked at me then.  I think she saw something because she leaned
over and kissed my cheek.

   "Thank you," she said, "I won't forget, ever."

   Then she turned and almost ran from the room, still naked, she had left
the towel behind.  A few minutes later I heard the back door close as I sat
on the cold tile and wept.

   --

   I was still there, huddled up in the damp towels, when Hiromi came.

   "She told me.  Everything." She said as she cradled me.

   I nodded my head and buried myself into her.

   Hiromi knew me, how to soothe my demons.  It took time, but we had time.

   "She's worried Ben, she came over to ask you to lunch and you never
answered.  She worries that you'll reject her now."

   "I won't."

   "I know, and I told her.  But she's still afraid."

   "I can't believe I lost control like that, but I did."

   She took my face in her hands and look square in my eyes.  "You didn't
lose control Ben, she took it from you.  You let her take it."

   I nodded my head again.  I knew the truth, even when I didn't want to
admit it.  "It's been so long."

   "It has.  But that doesn't mean it will always be that way.  You know
what Rachel wrote, better than anyone, you know she wanted you to move on."

   Everyone had been surprised when Rachel's will had been read.  She had
changed it three weeks to the day before her death.  In it had been a
letter to me, telling me, that if she died before me, that she released me,
so I could be free to move on.  That letter now lay on the piano, part of
my ritual.  Part of me that I still couldn't let go of.

   "But this is Nat, not someone else."

   "And she is as eager to learn as any girl I've ever seen, maybe more
so."

   "She's only 14 Hiromi."

   "And she's as much a woman as I am.  I trust you Benjamin Jacobs, I
trust you with my own heart, I trust you more than I have ever trusted
anyone, and you have never betrayed that trust.  Now, I trust you with my
daughter, just as I will when I bring Kim to you." She must have seen the
look on my face.  "Oh, you didn't expect that, did you?  Well, you should
have, Kim is far too much like her mother and I will NOT let her make the
mistakes I did."

   "I never asked for it."

   "That's one of the reasons I trust you.  Nat may not follow you like Kim
will, but they have already chosen you, both of them."

   "I..."

   "Don't worry, I'll take care of it.  Now, you're coming over for
dinner...  now."

   She helped me get washed up a bit, then dressed.  When we left my house
I saw curtains fly and in moments Nat was running across the lawn.

   I had to brace myself as she hit me.

   She was crying softly, so I raised my hands to her hair and stroked her.
"I'm Ok, luv, don't worry."

   "But you didn't answer, and I thought you hated me, that I'd been bad,
and..."

   "And I love you." I said.

   A third hand joined mine.  "I told you, didn't I?" Hiromi said.

   "Yes, Mamma, you did."

   "Now, lets go so we can eat, shall we?"

   Hiromi disentangled her daughter from me and we continued on to they're
their house.  Another moving curtain caught my eye as we did, another face,
more mature and just as well known.  Or at least I had thought that, until
today.