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Subject: Jenny (Mf+ teen play) Chap 9
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As found in the noodle box...

[WARNING: This is a very long chapter, and another
non-explicit one. A bit suggestive in places is about it.
It is also (I think) the next-to-last chapter. If Chapter ten
grows as much as this one did, it is possible it will be split
into two chapters, but we're finally reaching the end of our
long and grueling journey.]

------------------------------------------------------------ 

Chapter Nine
A Loss

    I answered the phone in my usual garbled fashion,
"NTS,EngineeringBranch,LarryPalmer,MayIHelpYou?"

    There was a short silence, then a hesitant voice, "Larry?"

    "Yes?"

    "This is Ashleigh. I didn't want to bother you at work, but I
need to see you. Can I come over tonight? By myself?"

    It was Monday. They never came by on Monday, even when we had to
change schedules. "Sure, come ahead. Whenever you like. I should be home
by five-thirty, so any time after that is fine." I had to ask.  "Is
there anything I should know? Or something you want me to do?"

    "No. Not really. I just . . . I'll tell you tonight. I'll try and be
there around seven."

    "That will be fine. I'll be looking for you."

    "Thanks, Larry. I'll see you tonight. Bye." The line went dead.

    There was something wrong. I didn't know what it was, but Ashleigh's
voice said she had a problem. For once I wasn't concerned that the
problem might cause trouble for me, and I'm not sure why. I could
probably have made a pretty good, pretty rational case for my feeling,
but I didn't; I just wasn't worried for myself. I was worried for
Ashleigh, though, a little. Whatever was bothering her she considered
important enough to call me at work and to risk showing up at my house
alone and presumably without telling Jenny. It wouldn't be accurate to
say that I let my worries interfere with my work, but whenever there was
an empty spot in my thoughts it was filled with Ashleigh.

    When I left the office, I began trying to think of what possible
problem Ash could have that she would feel she needed to tell me about.
I came up with a couple of possibilities, but nothing that sounded
really likely; it was wasted effort in any case, since I would know
soon, but that didn't stop me from thinking about it. When I got home, I
didn't undress, and I didn't mix a drink. A few minutes' effort was
spent cleaning the place up, not because Ashleigh was coming, but just
because it was something to do. It didn't need much, and I took more
time than was really necessary. Time dragged by, and finally there was a
knock on the door.

    I opened the door and Ashleigh was standing there with a forced
smile on her face. "Hi, Ashleigh. Come on in."

    "Thanks, Larry," she said, and walked into the room. It was, I
believe, the first time I had ever seen her without a bounce in her
step.

    I stood there awkwardly for a second, then said like an idiot,
"Would you like to sit down?" She sat stiffly on the sofa, then gave me
another forced smile and patted the cushion beside her. I sat where she
had indicated and assumed what I hoped was a look of concerned interest.
She didn't look at me, but leaned forward with her elbows on her knees
and resting her chin on her hands. For several seconds she didn't utter
a sound.

    Then in a small, cracking voice, she whispered, "It's a little
scary being here alone with you like this."

    That startled me, took me completely by surprise, and I started
to stammer a protest, "Ash! I wouldn't do anything to hurt you! Ever!
Under any circumstances . . . "

    "It's not you I'm worried about, Larry." She sounded as though
she were going to continue, then stopped and twisted around to face me.
"We're moving. We're moving to Seattle." She was trying very hard to
smile, but her eyes were moist.

    That hadn't been on my list of potential problems. I didn't know
what to say, but I heard myself ask, "When?"

    Her voice was breaking as she answered. "Next month. Early. As
soon as school is out. Dad's going out this week. He's opening a new
division out there and wants to be there until it's successful. We're
keeping the house here, and we'll be back, but Dad says we'll be there
at least a couple of years. At least there should be some good bands."
She tried to laugh, but she looked at me with red, watery eyes, and
almost started to cry. I wanted to take her in my arms, but I was afraid
to.

    What the hell was I supposed to say? Have a nice trip? I'm sorry?
Enjoy yourself? We'll miss you? Your place in the record book is secure?
I just sat there, frozen. Finally, I came out with, "Ash, I don't know
what to say. We'll miss you. I'll miss you. Very much. And we know you
will be coming back." She was nodding her head, but looking down, not at
me.

    "Oh, I know. This is stupid. I don't know why I'm acting this
way. I'll get over it. But right now it's kind of hard."

    "Is there anything I can do for you to help out?"

    She looked up at me now, and said, "Yes. Hold me." So I did. I
put my arms around her and held her close to me. Her shoulders were
shaking. Her face was buried in my chest, and while I didn't want to
overdo it, I began to stroke her hair. We just sat there like that for
several minutes without a word. Gradually she settled down and her
breathing became more regular. She pulled back from me, then curled up
beside me and put my arm back around her shoulder. She gave me a genuine
smile, and a "Thanks. I needed that," then snuggled up against me with
her head on my shoulder and pulled my other arm around her waist.  "Now
can we talk?"

    I said, "Sure," and gave her a little squeeze of encouragement.

    "Can I write to you?"

    "Of course. I'd be very disappointed if you didn't. You have my
address."

    "I might write a lot."

    "Well, I think anything over about four times a day might be
considered excessive."

    She giggled. "Yeah, it might be. I think I can hold it to less
than that, but no promises. You don't have to write me back, you know.
It would be nice if you could sometimes, but I won't expect it. And you
can email me if you have something you need to tell me, I won't mind; it
doesn't have to be a letter. But there are a couple of other things,
too."

    I waited expectantly, then finally prompted, "Go on."

    "I'm only going to be here for another couple of weeks. Well, anyway
less than a month. Before I go, can we stop the game? I don't think
Jenny is really interested anymore, anyway, and, well, it seems kind of
inappropriate, now. We can do other things. I don't mean we have to stop
playing, it's just that . . .  Well, I don't know. I'd just like to
stop. If you don't mind stopping, I'll ask Jenny if it's okay with her.
If you don't want to stop, I don't really mind too much either, I mean I
won't be mad or anything, so it's up to you whatever you want to do."

    "Let's stop it then. You don't have to ask Jenny, I'll just tell
her that I don't want to do it anymore."

    Her arm was across mine, and she gave me a little hug and said,
"Thanks." A couple of heartbeats later, she went on. "I've got more, you
know. I'm a very demanding woman."

    I hugged her again, and told her to state her demands. "Can I
come over sometimes just by myself, like tonight, without Jenny?"

    "Agreed. Next?"

    "This might not be so easy. I want to do some things, you know,
go places, even a movie or something. I know we can't go out together
just you and me, but maybe if Jenny and her mom would go along we could
make it like a family thing or something. I think they would do it if I
asked them."

    "I think that's a great idea, Ashleigh! We should do some things
as a group before you go. And again you don't have to ask, I will."

    She reached around, pinched my ear, and said (perhaps just a bit
wryly), "Yeah. I understand that you have a certain amount of influence
with Mrs. Jenkins."

    I laughed, "Well I don't know how much influence I have, but
I'll use it all if I need to."

    "Thanks. I might have some more later, but I think that's all
for now." She snuggled in closer.

    "Not an exorbitant list, Ashleigh. Should be quite manageable.
We'll really try to make the most of the time you have left here." I had
an urge to plant a kiss on the top of her head, but I resisted it. A
couple of questions came to me. "Does Jenny know about this yet? If she
doesn't, do you want for me to wait until you tell her before I handle
my part?"

    "No, she doesn't know yet. But I'm going to tell her tonight when I
get home."

    "Do you need a ride home tonight? I can take you if you do."
Since that first time, I had taken her home on a few other occasions
when the four of us had been together. Once both Helen and Jenny had
come with us, once it was only Jenny, and a couple of times we were by
ourselves. Never after the first time was it to an empty house, though.

    "I don't need one, really, but I'd like it better if you took me
if you don't mind."

    "Deal.  What about other plans for the next few weeks? Will you
have to schedule around things with your mother?"

    "Not a problem. I've already told her that I'm not interested in
any of her parties, and that I have plans of my own. And now I do!" She
hugged me again, then turned her face up and kissed my chin. When she
did, her hand slid from my arm and landed in my lap. Right on target.

    She jumped as though she had been burned. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't
mean to . . . " She had yanked her hand back up and had it on my
shoulder pulling me around to face her. Then she stopped in
mid-sentence, and gave me a wry grin. "I guess context really is
everything. But I'm sorry, anyway."

    "Apology accepted. Believe me, I don't mean to rush you, but
what time do we need to start taking you home?"

    She turned to me with an evil gleam in her eye and said, "I'd really
like to say sometime tomorrow, but I think I'd better say in about
fifteen minutes." She dropped back and snuggled up again. "Now shut up
and hold me for the next fifteen minutes." I obeyed dutifully.

    When we were in the car and on our way, Ashleigh began talking.
"You know, I'm really going to miss Jenny and her mom. They're my second
family, and sometimes it seems like my first family." She explained that
neither she nor Jenny had any brothers or sisters, so they were like
sisters themselves, but without all the sibling feuding. She talked
about a lot of the things that she remembered doing with Jenny since
they were small children. Then she segued smoothly into talking about
me. "I'm going to miss you an awful lot, too, Larry. Maybe even more
than them in some ways. You've been a good friend; maybe you don't see
that, but you have. I know you think I'm just a little girl who likes to
do . . .  unusual things, but that's not the real me. Don't worry. I'm
not going to put you on the spot, I'm just rattling on here. Sometimes I
wish that I had been a little older--well, a lot older--when I met you,
but then I probably wouldn't have met you, right? And I don't really
have any regrets. I've really enjoyed knowing you, and being with you. I
don't mean just that stuff with Jenny. Not that that wasn't fun, mind
you! But I really enjoyed the times we were together other times even
more, I think. Anyway, I'm really going to miss you. And I really hope
that you're still here when I come back, and still want to be my
friend."

    "Ashleigh, I really will miss you, too. I like you a lot. I
think you're a very special person, and I really hope that you will
still be my friend when you come back. You're very . . .  real, you
know. More than Jenny. Don't get me wrong, I like Jenny very much, too.
But she's sometimes a little . . . unreal, if you follow me."

    I could feel her grin, even if I couldn't see it. "Larry, I told
you that they were a little different.  Remember?" Those were the last
words spoken for a long time.

    She timed it perfectly. Perhaps she had rehearsed it and knew
exactly where to start. Regardless, she timed it perfectly. "Larry," she
said.

    "Uh-huh."

    "Don't take this the wrong way, just listen." She paused, and I
said nothing. "I know that you and Jenny have been doing other things
for a long time, now. She didn't tell me, but I know. I don't know what
kind of things you have been doing, and I don't really care. But before
I leave, if we can work it out, I'd like to do some other things, too. I
don't know whether you believe it or not, or whether you've even thought
about it, but I'm a virgin. And I'd like to stay that way. But I know
there are lots of things we can do without that. If you want that, too,
then we can do that. I just wanted you to know how I felt about it, but
if you want to, then it would be consensual, for what that's worth. I
would want to do things with you, anyway, but I wouldn't ask if it
weren't for Jenny. And it's not that I think that because maybe you do
things with her that you have to do them with me, too. It's not that at
all. It's just that I thought that if you were doing things with her,
then maybe you wouldn't mind doing them with me, too. And I know that
even if you maybe wanted to do some other things with me, you wouldn't
ask. I know you. So I thought that if I wanted to do some other things
with you, I would have to ask. So I'm asking. Don't say anything, yet. I
was going to ask Jenny what kind of things you guys do, but if she
wanted me to know, she would have told me a long time ago. And I won't
ask you, either. But the other part is that I don't want Jenny to think
I'm trying to sneak around behind her back with you, either. So if we do
anything, I think I'm going to have to tell her. But if you don't want
me to, I won't. I'll feel a little funny about it, but I won't. And
don't worry. If you don't want to do anything with me, you can tell me,
and I'll understand. Really. I only want to do it if you want to, too.
But if you want to, I've been thinking, and I could tell Mom I was
staying with Jenny, and I could stay at your place all night, and I
could probably do that two or three times at least. If you want to, I
mean. Don't say anything, yet. Even if I'm asking tonight, and I am
asking, I don't want you to give me your answer tonight. You can tell me
tomorrow, or later this week. Even if you tell me the night before we
leave, I'll make it happen, if you want to. Believe me. But if you can
tell me this week that would give us a lot more time to work things out.
And if you want to do it, but don't want me to stay at your place, then
we can do it anyway you want to, and I'll handle my part of it, so you
just tell me what you want to do, and whatever it is will be okay. Now,
don't say anything yet, but I'm going to ask you a different question,
and I just want you to answer that and not say anything else at all. Nod
your head if you'll do that. Just answer the question yes or no without
saying anything else."

    I had just stopped the car in the drive in front of her house
when she stopped talking.  I nodded.

    "Okay," she said. "Will you promise to think about doing other
things with me and give me an honest answer later?"

    "Yes." That seemed easy enough.

    "Thanks!" She unbuckled herself, stretched over, and gave me a
light kiss on the lips. "Thanks a lot!" She hopped out of the car and
ran to her door, not looking back.

    I kept my promise. I thought about it all the way home. I thought so
much about it that I missed a turn and cost myself several minutes
driving out of the way. Ash really was special, and I really did like
her a lot, and the thought of doing "other things" with her was enough
to make me shift in my seat as I drove. I thought back to the first time
I had seen her through Jenny's window; I could replay the whole night in
my mind. She had seemed so bold and so aggressive at the time, but that
really wasn't right. She was just self-assured enough to be able to play
roles with confidence, not for the purpose of being someone she wasn't
or trying to deceive, but just as play: as part of a game that we were
all playing. In truth, she was probably the one of the four of us who
was the most honest with herself and the one who presented the most
honest image to others. There wasn't the slightest doubt that she was
totally sincere in what she was asking, and I had no doubt either that
she knew exactly what she was doing. Which was going to make it very
easy for me to agree to it.

    Unfortunately, there were some counter arguments. I wasn't sure
whether what Jenny and I had been doing could get me convicted for
statutory rape or not; probably not, though it might be close and I
wouldn't want to put it to the test. I was sure, on the other hand, that
I could certainly be convicted of something. But with Jenny, the chance
of anyone ever finding out was negligible. She had been right about
bringing Helen into it; now, even if she slipped up sometime and
mentioned the other things we had been doing it wouldn't be a big deal.
Helen had her own reasons for going along with it, and she and I had
talked about them at great length over the past few months. The way
Helen saw it, Jenny was well able to cope with it, it gave her an outlet
which Helen could control and might keep her away from those she
couldn't, and it also gave Helen a hammer she could use if she ever
needed to: the threat of cutting her off from me. She also told me, and
I don't know whether she was joking or not, that the sessions with Jenny
improved my performance with her. Regardless, we were all three in it
together, which made it extremely unlikely (crossing my fingers) that a
problem would ever arise. Ashleigh was a completely different case. If
anyone at all found out what we were doing, and I reluctantly included
Helen and Jenny in that, I was going to find myself needing a very good
lawyer.  Ashleigh was only going to be around for less than a month; we
would be unlikely to be able to get together privately more then two or
three times at the most. If Jenny or Helen even suspected that we were
sneaking around on our own, the current rather comfortable arrangement
was almost certainly over. The potential gain-loss calculations didn't
look too good. By the time I got home I had reluctantly concluded that
Ashleigh was going to have to go off to Seattle without ever getting the
chance to do "other things" with me. I would have to tell her we
couldn't do it, and I really wasn't looking forward to that, either, so
I would try and put it off as long as possible.

    I hadn't been in the house more than a couple of minutes before
the phone rang. It was Helen. "Larry, Jenny just had a call from
Ashleigh. Her family is moving to Seattle."

    "Really? When?"

    "They're going to be leaving in three weeks and she just found
about it tonight. Her father wants to go out to babysit one of his new
ventures. I haven't the slightest doubt that this has been discussed for
weeks, and they just left Ashleigh out of it. I'm not in the best of
moods right now, but I can tell you this: I know her mother quite well,
and if Ken had dropped this on her without notice, he'd be going to
Seattle minus his balls. Ashleigh has more common sense and better
judgment than both of them put together, and they leave her out of a
decision like this. She's putting up a good front, I guess, but I know
she feels hurt. I would really like to wring some necks right now." She
wasn't waiting for a response from me, and I wouldn't have had one
anyway, but she paused for a second and I could just see her pulling
herself together. "Anyway, Jenny wants to try and spend as much time as
she can with her before she leaves, and we thought that you might like
to get together with us at least a few times."

    "Yes, I certainly would. I'll miss her. Do you have anything planned
yet?"

    "Hold on. Jenny wants to talk to you."

    I could hear some rustling as the phone changed hands. "Mr. Palmer,
this is Jenny." After all this time, she never, ever called me Larry in
front of her mother.

    "Hi, Jenny."

    "Listen, why don't we all get together here tomorrow night, that's
Tuesday night, and just sit around and talk and then maybe make some
plans for later? I know that maybe you might have had other plans for
Tuesday night, but if you can come over tomorrow, we'd really like to
have you."

    I was surprised that she didn't try and work "Tuesday night" in
another couple of times. I wasn't sure whether Helen could hear or not,
especially not in that house, so all I said was, "I think that's a great
idea, Jenny. I'll be there." But I couldn't resist. "That's more
important than anything I might have had planned for Tuesday night,
anyway."

    "That's great, Mr. Palmer! We'll see you tomorrow then." Then I
heard her say to her mother, "Mom? You want to talk to him again?"

    I heard a reply, but I couldn't make it out, then Helen's voice
came back over the phone, "Come on over as soon as you get home from
work if you feel up to it."

    "I'll be there as soon as I can, Helen."

    "Fine. See you then." And she hung up abruptly.

    I had taken a few minutes to go through the mail, mainly junk as
usual, and had just taken off my shirt to get ready for bed when the
phone rang again.  It was Helen. "Larry, I want you to come over here; I
need you to keep me from doing something stupid." She still sounded
harsh and angry.

    "Okay, Helen, I'll be right over."

    "Good." And she hung up again.

    I put my shirt back on and walked over. I knocked on the door
and Helen opened it, "Come in," she said, and it had the tone more of an
order than an invitation. She was wearing blue jeans and a tee shirt
(with bra, for a change), and while motioning me to the sofa, sat
cross-legged on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table. "I
want to give you a little history."

    I mumbled an acquiescence, and she started. "I've known Ashleigh's
parents since I was in college. Jerry had met Ken somewhere and thought
he was the kind of person it would be useful to know, so he introduced
me. At the time we met, Janet was pregnant with Ashleigh; it was a
couple of months before Jerry and I got married.  Ken still hadn't
turned thirty, and was already starting to crank it up. I thought he was
a great guy when I met him, and that Janet was a model of
sophistication. By the time Jenny was born, I knew better, but Jerry was
still in awe. Ken was a snake. A crook, and not even a particularly good
one back then, I don't think, just lucky. His little wife was an
absolute harridan. I don't know why I did it, but back then, even when I
was pregnant with Jenny, I started collecting dirt. It wasn't exactly a
challenge, but you had to look. I made it into a hobby. I guess the idea
was that someday I'd drop it all on Jerry and prove what a gullible fool
he had been and how clever I was. But the thing was, we actually got
pretty close. Because of bridge, of all things. Ken was a damned good
bridge player, and convinced Jerry that it would be a useful skill for
him to pick up. Jerry was very much into "useful", so he jumped into it,
and took me with him. Ken was--and is--a snake, but he's also a good
teacher, and I got hooked. I picked the game up fast, and actually got
to be a respectable player pretty quickly. Jerry played along, did his
thing, and wound up partnering Janet most of the time, and Ken adopted
me as his pet project.  For a while we had quite a reputation as a
strong pair. I made life master in a couple of years, and could have
done it sooner except that I was taking care of Jenny--and Jerry.  But
all the time we were hitting the tournaments, I was picking up little
bits for my collection. I'm not talking rumors, Larry. I was getting
copies of very incriminating papers, collecting names of people who
could, and probably would, be able and willing to testify if it came to
it. And the funny thing was that it seemed that most of the people we
ran into at the games were lawyers.  All kinds of lawyers. They were
everywhere in the bridge crowd back then. Maybe they still are, I don't
know. Some of the people I met then were already near the top, others
were getting there, and a lot were going nowhere, just like everybody
else. Let's say that it wasn't hard for me to make friends. I was a sexy
little thing back then, new mother, still glowing, and the fact that I
played a tough game didn't hurt. I made a lot of friends back then, and
a lot more contacts.  And I made a lot more friends through those
friends. If you ever need a lawyer, let me know. I think I have between
two and three hundred in my rolodex. Anyway, some of those people are
pretty well placed right now." She started ticking them off on her
fingers. "There's a judge on the California Supreme Court; there's a
senior partner in the lead law firm for one of the major tobacco
companies; there's a couple of pretty pricy defense lawyers; and there's
one who is a prosecutor with the Justice Department. There are a lot
more who have friends of friends. And all that time back then, Ken was
eating it up. He thought it was great to be in with that crowd. Well,
let me tell you that a lot of them were pretty sharp, and saw right
through him.  And I managed to get a couple of them to go along with me
in my "hobby". And some of them still are. We still played bridge even
after Jerry and I called it quits. I'll give Ken one thing; he never
tried to get me in bed until after the breakup. But he did try later;
and he succeeded, and it cost him, and he still doesn't know how much.
There were a couple of pieces I was looking for, and he provided them to
me on a platter. The jerk. Ken has branched out quite a bit in the last
fifteen years. When he started, all I could have done was to cost him a
few business deals, and maybe get his hand slapped. Now I could land him
a stretch in Federal prison. And maybe even better. The last few years
he's found a new interest in the import business. Mainly from Colombia
and Thailand. And I'm pretty sure he's been cheating there, too. And I'm
pretty sure I can get my hands on what I need to prove it to the right
people--at least all the proof they would need." She stopped for a
moment, not looking for a response from me, just looking off into the
distance, or somewhere inside herself. I wasn't sure where she was going
with this, if anywhere, and to be honest I was a little bored. I tried
to look interested, but must not have succeeded. "You want some coffee,
Larry?" I said that I could probably use some.  She got up for a second
and came back with a couple of cups of coffee, then said she was going
to start another pot. I had the feeling I wasn't going anywhere for
awhile.

    When she came back, she got back on track. "I would probably
have bagged him a long time ago if it hadn't been for a couple of
things. First, I really like Ashleigh. I don't know how she came out of
that family. I'll never understand it. But I don't want to do anything
that would hurt her. And the other thing is that I have this delicious
feeling that the longer I wait, the higher he'll climb, and the farther
he'll fall when I nail him. I think that in my mind I kind of combined
the two things. I know . . . I know without any doubt at all that before
long he's going to find a trophy wife that's meets his exacting
standards, and walk out on Janet and Jenny. And when he does, I'll wring
every dime I can out of him, then throw him to the wolves. Move over."
It was so unexpected that it took me a couple of seconds to realize what
she said. Even before I started to move, she was standing up and walking
around the table. She sat on the sofa next to me, not in any kind of
intimate way, she just sat down and turned half toward me to continue
talking. "Now. As you might have surmised, being the bright fellow you
are, I am just a teensy bit upset with our little Kenny this evening.
After I got off the phone with you tonight, I looked up a number and
started to call one of my ol' lawyer buddies on the west coast. I came
to my senses, and that's when I called you back. And that's why you're
here. I can sit here and talk to you instead of doing something
incredibly stupid."

    Now she did slide up next to me and put her head on my shoulder.
"Now that I've told you more than you ever wanted to know about what I
was going to do, let me tell you more than you'll ever want to know
about why I was going to do it. You know it's all about Ashleigh, of
course. And it really was rotten they way they treated her. And I admit
to being well and truly pissed off about it. But Larry, I was really
thinking about myself. I'm going to miss her. I feel like she's as much
my daughter as Jenny. When Jerry and I called it quits Janet decided I
needed support, and that she was just the one to provide it--her way, of
course. One of the things she suggested was to start Jenny in preschool
(she called it kindergarten) together with Ashleigh. I thought about it
and actually talked it over with Jerry, and I did it. Understand that
until then they really didn't know each other. They had met a couple of
times, and that was it. And I didn't say anything to Jenny about
Ashleigh; I don't know what Janet did. But the two of them really hit it
off.  And they've been closer than sisters ever since. They went to
different schools for a couple of years, but never went more than a few
days without getting together one place or the other. By the time Jenny
was ready for fourth grade, they had talked me into moving her to a
private school together with Ashleigh. Then Ash moved on to middle
school and they were in different schools again for a year. After the
first year, Ashleigh convinced Ken and Janet to let her transfer to a
different school. I'm not positive of the reason; it could have been
just that she thought the kids where she was were snobs, but I have the
feeling that she was afraid Jenny wouldn't be able to afford it; and it
honestly would have been tight, but not unbearably painful. But they let
her transfer to the school she wanted, and that's where they both are
now. 'Best friends' doesn't begin to tell the whole story.  It's as
though it's the two of them, and then everyone else. Both of them have
lots of other girls they call friends, but the others are really all
interchangeable."

    She snuggled up under my arm and went on. "But they'll make it.
They'll cry all over each other when they say goodbye, but it won't
really bother them.  They'll be in touch, probably by any way you can
think of, and even if they are apart, it will still be the two of them,
and then everybody else. But damn it! I'm going to miss her!" She put
her cheek on my chest. "I know that I have more sense than to go
throwing bombs around just out of spite, but you're my insurance policy.
You're going to stay here with me tonight and kick me if you see me
moving toward a phone. No funny business, either! Tonight you're just my
watchdog." Suddenly she stopped. Moved her head slightly, then raised up
to look at me with a strange grin and said, "Larry, you little devil,
you!"

    I had no idea on earth what she was talking about, and all I
could get out was a "Hmnh?"

    She dropped her head back down with a relaxed, "Never mind." After a
few seconds she asked, "You can stay here tonight, can't you? I always
forget to do little things like ask."

    "Sure. I'll have to leave early in the morning, though. Work
tomorrow."

    "Okay. Tomorrow going to be a six o'clock breakfast, or a six-thirty
quick shower and off-to-work?"

    "Breakfast. You gotta compensate me for my time some how."

    "Slave driver. I'll have to get up before five-thirty."

    "Welll . . .   Perhaps we could work out a different form of
compensation."

    "Breakfast it is!" She paused for a moment, then went on, "But
if you're a really good watchdog, we might work out a bonus."

    She had finally gotten out of the mood she had been in earlier,
and I guessed that my primary mission had been accomplished.  We started
upstairs, then she quickly went to the kitchen to turn off the coffee
pot, still untouched, before coming back to lead me to her loft.

    I was a little groggy the next day at work, but not enough to
cause me a problem. By the time I started home the only ill effects I
was feeling were from the situation, not from lack of sleep. True to my
word, I headed for Helen's as soon as I got home.  No sooner had they
let me in, than we were on our way out again. They had decided to go out
for dinner. Italian. That suited me just fine.  They had taken me to the
place a couple of times before, and I liked both the food and the
atmosphere.  And it had the advantage of being a public place, which was
mildly comforting.

    We had no sooner been seated, Helen across from me, Jenny on my
right, when Helen announced that she was going to powder her nose, and
Jenny decided to join her.

    "Ashleigh?" Helen asked.

    "No thanks, Mrs. Jenkins. I think I'll just stay here this time."
Jenny looked surprised, but Helen took it in stride, and led Jenny away.

    When they were out of sight, Ashleigh turned to me and put the
question: "Have you thought about what I asked you, Larry?"

    Here it was. "Yes, I have, Ashleigh. I've been giving it a lot
of thought ever since I talked to you."

    She looked at me expectantly, "And?"

    I took a deep breath. I just hoped she didn't create a scene. I
knew that I would kick myself later for this, but I had to do it. "Let's
do it, Ashleigh." I heard my own words echoing in my ears, but I had no
idea where they had come from. I had the feeling that my mouth was
hanging open stupidly, as though to try to catch the words and bring
them back. I felt slightly numb.

    Ashleigh's only reaction was a beautiful smile, and a quiet, "Great!
Thanks. I think Friday would be a good time, is that okay with you?"

    There was nothing else I could do. "Friday sounds fine,
Ashleigh."

    "Your place, okay? I'll be over around six. Is that okay?"

    "That's fine, Ashleigh. Six will be fine. How are you going to
handle it?"

    "Well, I don't have to worry about school in the morning, and that's
one reason for Friday night. I'll just tell Mom that I'm going to be
staying with Jenny. I'll tell Jenny that Mom insisted on one of her
parties, and that we'll have plenty of other times.  I'll probably be
taking a taxi over, anyway, and I'll just have him let me out in front
of your place.  If Mom decides to bring me over, I'll have her let me
out at the library, and I'll walk over from there. Saturday morning
sometime I'll walk over to Jenny's and tell her that Mom dropped me off
at the library and I walked over."

    "You know better than I do what will work, but that sounds
reasonable. I don't suppose that there is any chance that phone calls
might be made?"

    "Larry, in all the times I have been at Jenny's house, I can't
ever remember my parents calling me there. Not once."

    I figured that in that case the time was ripe, particularly with
impending moves and all that, but I let it go. "Well, then. I guess I'll
see you Friday night."

    She smiled sweetly and replied, "I guess you will," and squeezed
my knee beneath the table. I followed her glance to see Helen and Jenny
returning.

    It turned out to be a very enjoyable evening. For quite a while
there was no mention of the move, just good conversation. Then Jenny
asked what we were going to do the rest of the week, and we started
making plans. We agreed to just get together on Wednesday and wing it. I
suggested, and everyone agreed, that on Thursday we should grab a movie.
Ashleigh announced with obvious regret that her mother was going to make
her attend a party Friday night, but that Saturday and Sunday would be a
good time to make another trip up to the mountains, and maybe try and
grab a cabin and spend Saturday night. I mentioned that I was probably
going to have a lot of work today Friday night anyway, so it was
probably for the best. So the rest of our week was planned out.

    Wednesday night, we never made it out of the house. We sat around
laughing over things we had done before, making totally sincere plans
for all sorts of hilarious things that we knew we'd never do, and
generally having a good time. The movie Thursday was less than
memorable, but that wasn't really the point, anyway. We hit the mall
early and wandered around until we settled on a movie and did our thing.
Helen sat on my right, Ashleigh on my left, with Jenny next to her.
Nothing of note happened.

    Friday was a little tense. I hadn't the slightest doubt that I
was doing something incredibly foolish. And I didn't care. I left work a
little early, and was home just after five. I made a last minute check
to be certain the place was suitable for an overnight guest, and
anticipation drove away any lingering reservations. At six forty-five,
the phone rang. It was Ashleigh.

    "Larry, I'm at the airport." She sounded resigned, frustrated,
irritated, and generally less than happy. "Mom is dragging me off to
Seattle for the weekend. I'm really sorry, but I couldn't talk her out
of it. I'll call you Sunday night, probably pretty late, and we'll talk
about next week. Get the word to Jenny and her Mom for me, will you?"

    "Sure. I'll tell them you tried to reach them and couldn't. Try
and enjoy yourself in Seattle; I'll be thinking about you while you're
gone."

    She chuckled, then her voice came through muffled and I knew she
was swallowing the mouthpiece, "Oh, I'll enjoy myself all right. I'll
lock myself in my room and think delicious thoughts about next week.
Listen, I've got to run. They've already called our flight. I'll talk to
you Sunday. Bye." And she hung up.

    I thought for a few seconds, then walked out the door and over
to Helen's. I knocked on the door, and Jenny opened it. She looked at me
curiously and remarked that she thought I was going to be busy, and just
at that time Helen stuck her head around the door from the kitchen. "I
tried to call you," I explained, "but I couldn't get through.  Ashleigh
just called from the airport. They're going to Seattle for the weekend.
I guess her mother decided at the last minute to make the trip. Ash said
she tried calling you but couldn't get through and asked me to tell you.
 I tried calling, too, but your phone didn't ring."

    "That's strange," Helen said, "I was on the phone myself just a
few minutes ago. Which number?"

    "I tried both. I don't know about Ashleigh. There was no ring at
all."

    Jenny jumped in, "Well, my phone didn't ring, either. What happened
to the party, anyway?"

    "She didn't say. I didn't think to ask."

    "I'm sure Janet handled the situation impeccably," Helen assured
us. "Should we cancel the cabin?"

    "Why, Mom? The three of us can still go, can't we?"

    "I suppose so. What do you think, Larry?"

    "We might as well go. We've got the reservation and it should be
a nice weekend."

    "Then we'll go. I wonder what happened to the phones? You said
you didn't hear any ring at all? Maybe we're grounded out."

    "Hang on, Mom. I'll run upstairs and call you down here."

    I decided it was time for me to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow around
noon, then.  I've got to get back to it. I'll try and call again when I
get home." Helen let me out, and I walked to my place and called her.

    She answered the phone on the first ring, and I told her that
the phone seemed fine now. She said that she'd just have to keep an eye
on it. Now all I had to do was find something to do for the rest of the
evening.

    The mountains were nice. Jenny came up with the idea on Saturday
night that we should all sleep in the same bed. And we did. Sleep. Or at
least nothing seriously different from it. Wasn't what I had in mind,
but to tell the truth it was kind of nice. I was afraid when she
suggested it that since Ashleigh had bowed out,  Jenny was going to try
and start a competition with her mother, but there wasn't even a
suggestion of it. We got back home around five Sunday afternoon, and I
went home--to wait for Ashleigh's call. It came around ten thirty.

    "Hi," she said, "I'm calling from my room." I noticed that she
didn't mention my name, and figured that this was going to be a very
discrete call. "I think that we're probably going to do this next week,
too, so let's plan to get together a day earlier in the week, if that's
all right with you. I'll have school on Friday so we might have to work
out some details."

    "We can do that. Have you talked to Jenny yet?"

    "Not yet. I'll see her in the morning. Coming over to Jenny's
tomorrow night?"

    "Of course. Couldn't keep me away."

    "Okay. I'll see you then. By the way, I had a very good time,
just as I told you I would. Good night, and pleasant dreams."

    Monday morning, Artie said he wanted to see me and I walked into
his office. "Larry, you're going to Atlanta Wednesday."

    "Wrong."

    "Not wrong. You'll be back Thursday afternoon, but I need you
there to help get the benchmark wrapped up on Wednesday, then for the
outbrief on Thursday morning."

    "Why can't Susan handle it? She knows it as well as I do. Maybe
better."

    "Because Saunders is a chauvinist pig, and because you're
better."

    "How about Glen?"

    "What the hell is wrong with you? You taken root in that chair
over the last few months? That's what I get for putting you behind that
desk, I suppose. If you really can't do it, I can send Glen. But you
know that you're the right one."

    "Just an awkward time is all, Artie. I can do it, but I have to
be back on Thursday."

    "Didn't I say you would be back on Thursday?"

    "Didn't you say I would be back from Denver for the Fourth of
July party last year?"

    "That was an exception."

    "Sure. I'll go book it." And I did. First class all the way.
When Ruth gave me that look about first class, I told her that Artie
would clear it, and damned if he didn't.

    Monday night, I told the gang about the trip, and Jenny decided
that since I wouldn't be here anyway, she would spend Wednesday night at
Ashleigh's. Tuesday we had a simple picnic at a local park, and I got
roped into playing tennis. Helen and I took on the Terrible Twosome, and
she was almost, but not quite, good enough to overcome my ineptness.

    Atlanta worked out just about as I should have expected. That
idiot Saunders had told our people that the whole floor had protected
power, and they believed him. There was a power outage, followed by a
surge, on Wednesday morning before I got there, and the benchmark system
was history. We were able to get it rebuilt, of course, but it took
until after midnight, which meant that they couldn't finish the
benchmark until Thursday. Which meant that I couldn't leave until
Friday. I called Helen Wednesday night to give her the news, but I
couldn't very well ask her to pass it on to Ashleigh since she was
supposedly going to be tied up at another of her mother's functions on
Thursday night anyway and would have no need to know about it, but I
hoped that she would get the word, anyway.

    On Thursday morning I called Artie and told him that I would be
in on Monday, but I was taking the rest of the week off, and if he
didn't like it to pack up my desk for me. He just laughed and said he
would see me on Monday. I got back home late Friday night, called Helen
to report in, and hibernated for the rest of the weekend.  Sunday night,
about ten-thirty, Ashleigh called, just as I had expected. "Larry, what
happened Thursday?"

    "You didn't find out from Jenny?"

    "No. I came over on Thursday night, but you weren't there. I was
kinda stuck, since I couldn't go back home, and I couldn't stay at
Jenny's."

    "What did you do?"

    "You won't get mad?"

    "Of course not!"

    "I went in through one of your front windows."

    "How did you do that? They were locked. I checked them before I
left."

    "I kinda broke one of the locks. Your place isn't exactly
burglarproof, is it?"

    "Never had any reason to think it needed to be. I'll give you a
key tomorrow, just in case."

    "Larry, you know this is my last week here. My last day of school is
Thursday, and we're leaving for Seattle for good on Friday."

    "I know Ashleigh. This time I'm taking no chances. I'm taking
from Tuesday on off from work, and we can plan any night next week. In
fact, if you can work it, let's start with Monday night and if something
spoils that, we can go to Tuesday, and then to Wednesday if we need to."

    "I think we're kinda committed to Jenny Monday, but what we can
do is I'll say I have to leave early, eight o'clock or so, and ask you
to take me home, and then you take me home--your home!"

    "Okay, Ashleigh. It's a date. I'll see you tomorrow.

    "See you tomorrow, Larry. Good night."

    "Good night."

    "Wait!"

    "What is it?"

    "Larry, I can't wait!"

    I started to say that I couldn't either, but she hung up before
I could.

    Monday morning, I went in to see Artie and told him all about
Atlanta, and what a great job our guys did to recover from the mess
Saunders had made. Then I went back to my desk, filed my trip report,
and  filed my expense report. Then I threw some papers in my briefcase
and in an exceptionally good mood went back to Artie's office. I walked
in, put my briefcase on his desk and opened it up. I made a production
of taking out my cell phone, turning it off, removing the battery, and
dropping it in the case. I picked up my pager, dumped the batteries out
in my hand, dropped the pager and the batteries in the case, closed it
and picked it up, and announced that I would be incommunicado until next
Monday. Then I turned and walked out the door. Artie had sat there
speechless with a stony expression during the entire show, but as I
exited, he issued a sour, "Right."

    It was a glorious day, and my mood surpassed it. One way or another,
this was going to be a banner week. I got in my car, pitched the
briefcase on the seat beside me, and left the garage.  There was very
little traffic, probably because it was early afternoon, and my luck
held. The first two lights were green all the way. So was the third one,
but as I passed under the third one there was a flash of dark green on
my left and I heard tires squealing. Then I saw the dark green
materialize into a car. I could see its headlight shatter and the fender
and hood buckle as it hit me right at my left front wheel. I could see
my fender collapse and my hood buckle, too, and I thought about how
equitable the whole thing was.

    The guy was looking at me sideways, and there was another guy
looking at me sideways the other way so that it looked as though the
tops of their heads were touching. It looked like he was saying
something to me, and I could hear sounds, but I couldn't make anything
out at first. I felt like the room was spinning around, then I realized
that I wasn't in a room. I was in an ambulance. One of the guys was
shining a light in first one of my eyes, then the other. I made out a
couple of words. "He's all right."

    The other guy asked, "Do you know where you are?"

    "Yeah. In an ambulance."

    "What's your name?" He was looking at my wallet, so he wasn't asking
because he didn't know.

    "Larry Palmer. What's yours?"

    He grinned. "Doug Babcock. Nice to meet you. Do you know what
happened?"

    "Vaguely. A car plowed into me as I was going through the
intersection. On a green light."

    "I don't know about the light, but the rest of it is right. How
do you feel?"

    "I've felt better. I hurt all over. How about the other guy?"

    "Not a scratch. Take it easy now until we get you to the hospital.
You've had a concussion. Probably a broken leg, maybe a couple of
cracked ribs. Don't tell the doc I told you, or he'll have me for
practicing without a license."

    Taking it easy seemed like a sensible course of action, so I did.  I
had some very fuzzy memories of lots of people looking at me and talking
about me, but the next thing I actually remember was waking up in a
hospital bed.  There was another bed in the room, but it was empty. My
mouth felt like cotton, and it seemed like half of me was numb, and the
other half hurt like hell.  I dozed off again, and when I woke up next
time, there was a doctor and a nurse in the room.  "Mr. Palmer," the
doctor said quietly.

    "Yes, that's me," I answered.

    "Good. I'd hate to think we mixed up another one," he grinned.
"Let me tell you where you stand. You've had a pretty nasty concussion.
Your left leg has a simple fracture, and some lacerations which we've
sewed up nicely for you. You have three cracked ribs on your left side."
Doug knew his stuff. "You have a few loose teeth, but they should
tighten up by themselves. A few odd contusions here and there. And you
seem to have some very light internal bleeding. So because of the
concussion and the internal bleeding we're going to have to keep you for
a few days. Hope you didn't have other plans."

    Oh, shit. "What time is it?"

    "It's," he looked at his watch, "six twenty-three. Is there someone
we should notify? Your identification and your insurance are noticeably
silent on the point."

    "Is there a phone I can use?"

    "Not except for the one you have your hand on."

    I looked. I had my hand lying across a bedside table, and it was
indeed touching a telephone. "Well. I was just checking. Where am I, by
the way?"

    "Ashford County."

    That totally confused me. I wondered if the concussion had caused
some memory loss. "Don't take this the wrong way, doctor, but where the
hell is Ashford County?"

    He laughed. "Sorry. You're only a mile from your office, in the
county hospital named for the good Doctor Ashford, long since departed."

    I started to shake my head in mock disgust, but when I did I got
clobbered with a really sharp pain, and I started to feel suddenly
nauseous.

    The nurse looked at me with concern, but the doctor grinned again,
"'Doctor, it hurts when I do this,' 'Then don't do that.' Try and avoid
any sudden head movement. Do you want some help sitting up to use the
phone?"

    I thought about it. "No, I can manage. Is there anything else I
should avoid?"

    "Don't try getting out of bed by yourself. A nurse will help you
if you need to get up, but you can't walk on that cast anyway. We'll
give you a walking cast in a day or two, but until then you'll have to
navigate that wheelchair." He nodded toward one at the end of the bed.

    "What will it do in the quarter?"

    "Depends on which of the nurses you can get to push you. I'll be
back to see you later tonight." He walked out of the room, but the nurse
lagged behind.

    "That's Dr. Howard," she said. "He's one of the best. There's a
TV remote on your table, and a call bell right there. Just ring if you
need something." Then she, too, was gone.

    I gingerly raised up and picked up the phone; I dialed Helen's
number. She answered on the first ring; remarkable. "Hello, Helen.
Larry."

    "Larry! Where are you? Where have you been?"

    "Ashford County. I've been delayed."

    She knew about Ashford. "What happened?  Are you all right?"

    "I'm more or less intact.  All right would be a stretch. I was
in a little accident this afternoon."

    "I'll be right over." I could hear her giving commands to the
girls in the background. "Larry?"

    "Yes."

    "Never mind. We'll see you in a few minutes."

    Fifteen minutes later, they were walking through the door. Helen
looked distraught; Jenny looked sympathetic; Ashleigh looked devastated.
I can't say for sure, but I suspect that I looked like hell. Helen
walked over and took my hand. "Larry, what happened?"

    "I got caught in an unlucky position. Right in front of a
maniac."

    "Why are you in a room instead of a recovery ward?" Right to the
point, my Helen.

    "I had a concussion and they think maybe a little internal
bleeding."

    "They think? How much is a little?"

    "Little enough they can't be sure, I guess."

    "I think we should move you to Mountain View."

    "Why? This is good enough. Dr. Howard is an excellent doctor."

    "How would you know? If you're bleeding internally you need
attention."

    "I've got attention. I'm fine."

    "You're delirious."

    "You're delicious, but what's that got to do with anything?"

    "You're impossible. Ashleigh, you talk to him."

    Ashleigh's eyes were again red and moist, "Mr. Palmer. Larry, please
listen to Mrs. Jenkins. We need to make sure that you get the best
treatment. You have to. I'm scared." The last sentence came right along
with the others, and I almost missed it.

    "Larry," Jenny must have been emboldened by hearing Ashleigh call me
Larry in front of Helen without being struck dead, "Don't you think you
should at least think about moving? We all want the best for you, and
we're afraid you won't get it here." She sat down on the side of my bed,
pulling one knee up on the top.

    "Listen. All of you. There is nothing seriously wrong with me.
I'll be out of here in a few days, and only a little the worse for wear.
Stop acting like I'm at death's door. Please."

    Helen thought for a minute. "Let me make a call or two. I want
to talk to Dr. Atkinson and get some advice." Atkinson was a doctor at
Mountain View that even I had heard of. I was pretty sure I knew what
his advice would be. I started to protest, but she was already out the
door.

    "Tell us about what happened, Larry," Jenny prompted.

    "I was leaving work early, going on vacation for the rest of the
week. Traffic was light, the light was green, I went through, and got
nailed by somebody running the red."

    "What about your car?" Still Jenny.  Ashleigh was quiet and
pale.

    "I don't know. I would guess it's totaled.  That's the insurance
company's problem, anyway."

    Ashleigh spoke up, "Larry, are you hurting? You sound okay, but
you don't look all that great."

    "I'm glad I sound okay, but I have a few places that hurt a
little."

    "Like where?" Jenny.

    "My head hurts if I move it quickly, it hurts when I breathe, and my
left leg hurts. Other than that, it's just little stuff."

    "Larry, Mom is a little pushy, but really, we all want you to
get the best care possible. So humor us, okay? What do you say, Ash?
Mom's going to be gone for awhile; want to play a couple of quick
rounds?"

    I thought it was funny. I laughed, and it hurt. Ashleigh looked
horror-stricken. Jenny realized what she had done, and got somewhat
serious, at least. "Sorry, Larry. Really. I'll try not to do that
again." She squeezed my hand, and leaned over and kissed me gently on
the lips.

    Ashleigh was still standing where she was before, slightly away
from the bed, and slightly behind where Helen had been standing before
she left. She looked absolutely miserable. She looked worse than I felt.
I wanted to say something to her, but I didn't know what to say, and I
didn't know what I could say in front of Jenny. Jenny continued the
conversation, "What about the other guy?"

    "I don't really know.  The guy in the ambulance said he got out
without a scratch, but I don't know.  I would guess his car is in even
worse shape than mine."

    "How's your circulation?"

    That certainly puzzled me.  I had no idea what she was talking
about. "I don't know, Jenny.  Why?"

    "Well, I was just thinking that even if Ash doesn't want to go a
couple of rounds for points, we could still see if we could get you a
decent hardon before Mom comes back. Wouldn't that be neat? Mom comes
back with the doctor and there you'll be with your tent pole and
Ashleigh and I with our sweet, innocent expressions . . . "

    I started laughing again, but this time I managed to keep most
of the touchy parts still and it didn't hurt quite as much as it did
before. "Whoops! Sorry, I forgot," Jenny didn't really sound all that
apologetic. About that time Helen walked back in.

    "I got hold of Dr. Atkinson. He says that your faith in your Dr.
Howard is well founded, and that he was too busy to take you on anyway
unless complications appeared. Now then. What's all this hilarity in
here?"

    Jenny volunteered the explanation, "We were just trying to figure
out the best way to check Mr. Palmer's circulation, and I had a couple
of ideas."

    Helen understood immediately, rolled her eyes, winced and reminded
Jenny of where she was. Then she turned to Ashleigh, "I thought I left
you in charge. Can't you keep my daughter from attempting assault on
every helpless male who finds himself in reach?" Ashleigh's expression
made it obvious to all of us that she was in no mood for levity, so
Helen dropped that and changed the subject. "Want to borrow my rolodex?
I'll point you to a few good entries."

    "I don't know. I don't know anything yet. See if you can find
out what happened to my briefcase if you can. And see if there's a
police report. And try and find out where they took my car."

    "He's delirious all right," Helen announced to the room at large.
"He thinks his personal secretary is in the room." Then her tone changed
and she said that she would do what she could.

    She was on her way out when there was a knock on the half-open
door and a blond head appeared around it. A rather attractive young
female blond head with a small bandage on its forehead. "Mr. Palmer?" it
asked hesitantly.

    "At your service," I replied, and the head dragged a very
respectable body behind it into the room. The head turned to Helen and
asked, "Mrs. Palmer?"

    Helen paused before she went out the door and answered, "No. Sorry.
That's Mrs. Palmer." And she pointed to Jenny, sitting on the side of my
bed, and continued out into the hallway.

    For some reason, the blond seemed taken aback, then gathered herself
and announced, "I'm Sondra Bethel, and I guess I'm the reason you're
here." Jenny looked at her with interest, Ashleigh looked at her with
something that could have passed for hatred, and I looked at her
appraisingly. Definitely prime. Early twenties. Maybe very early.

    "Nice to meet you, Sondra. Sit down," I nodded toward a chair
near the wall. I was hoping she would cross her legs, but she didn't,
sitting primly with her knees together. "The guy in the ambulance said
you got through without a scratch." I paused a second. "He also said you
were a 'he'. I note that he was wrong on both counts. What can I do for
you?"

    "I saw them take you away in the ambulance, and I just thought I
would come by and see how you were doing. I was worried about you, you
know."

    "I understand completely, Sondra. I was concerned about you,
too. Even when I thought you were a 'he'."

    She actually blushed. Then she got to the point. "Have you talked to
your insurance company yet?"

    "As it happens, I haven't, actually. Why do you ask?"

    "Well, you probably won't need to, really. I've talked to mine,
and they've offered to pick up everything. That's another reason I
stopped by. I thought that there wouldn't be any reason for you to see
your rates go up, you know, like after you told your insurance company
about it. Since my company will pay for everything, you can save
yourself some money."

    "But what about my Pain and Suffering?" She looked flustered.
No; she looked scared to death. I took pity on her. Temporarily,
perhaps, but pity. "Never mind, Sondra. It's very kind of you to visit
me, and to let me know about your insurance company. You were certainly
under no obligation to do so, and I appreciate it." She brightened
noticeable, and crossed her legs. I brightened, but I hoped not too
noticeably. "But I really can't say anything until I talk to my
attorney." Jenny smiled down at me and patted my leg.

    "Your attorney?" Clouds appeared over her brow.

    "Yes. That was her leaving just as you arrived. I'm sorry. I should
have introduced you. I apologize. I'm just not myself after the
accident." I paused to allow that to sink in. "But if you would like to
drop by tomorrow I'm sure I'll be able to give you more information
then." She uncrossed her legs, and clouds appeared over my brow.

    Sondra stood up and headed slowly toward the door. "Well, then.
I'll be going. I'll come by and see you tomorrow. Is there anything I
can bring you? Or do for you?" She certainly looked sincere.

    "I can't think of a thing at the moment. The accident, you know.
But I'll be looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. Good night, Sondra."

    "Good night, Mr. Palmer. Nice to have met you, Mrs. Palmer," she
looked toward Jenny.

    "No, that's Mrs. Palmer," Jenny gestured toward Ashleigh, "I'm
just a friend.  Aren't I, Snookems?" And she glanced down at me and
patted me on a part of my anatomy that was definitely not my knee.

    For the first time all night, Ashleigh came alive. She waved at
Sondra and said with a brilliant smile, "Nice to meet you, Miss Bethel.
We'd appreciate anything you can do for poor Larry, here." Poor Sondra
left as though pursued by demons.

    Jenny put her finger to her lips as the good Miss Bethel left
the room, and we all held our breath until her footsteps became
inaudible, then the three of us burst into laughter. I couldn't hold
back, and my ribs were killing me, but I laughed anyway.

    Through her laughs, Ashleigh put forth an interesting proposition.
"Larry, I'm sure she can find a way to compensate you for your Pain and
Suffering. She looks very creative."

    Jenny immediately saw the possibilities. "I think you ought to
ask for dailies for at least a year. Then you can bargain down to six
months for a final settlement. Your attorney should be able to handle
the negotiations for you."

    Ashleigh ventured toward dangerous ground, "Your attorney might
not like dailies all that much. Maybe you should start with two years of
three times a week and bargain down from there."

    "You underestimate him, Ashleigh. Larry can handle dailies and
compensate his attorney as well. Of course, he might have to quit his
job."

    "Loss of employment, too. That should be worth another couple of
years compensation at least, don't you think?" Ashleigh had done a
little negotiating herself. Those Monopoly games had far-reaching
effects.

    "Yes, you're right, of course. But after two years, her value
will have depreciated considerably. We're talking definitely over the
hill. We'll have to see whether she has any other assets. Sisters,
maybe." Jenny glanced down. The conversation had taken its toll. "Oh,
look, Ash! His circulation is coming back to normal!"

    Helen walked through the door. "Are you guys still at it?" Then
she obviously noticed the same thing Jenny had. "Are they bothering you,
Larry? I'll make them keep their distance." I assured her that there was
no need for that.

    Jenny began telling her mother about our visitor, hitting all
the pertinent dialog, including the post-event commentary. "So, can you
be here to be Mr. Palmer's attorney when she comes back? See how good a
deal you can make for him."

    Helen had plopped down in the chair vacated by my assailant, and
did a remarkable job of maintaining her composure during the story. "At
the risk of getting hauled off to jail for practicing law without a
license, I wouldn't miss it," she said in response to Jenny's final
question. "Of course, Larry, you'll bear the responsibility of
validating performance of any agreement reached. In addition to my fees,
naturally."

    "I'll do my best," I assured her.

    "By the way, your car was towed to the impoundment lot, and
consensus is that its days of moving under its own power are over. There
is supposed to be a copy of the  police report with your briefcase,
which I am told," she stood up and walked to a closet in the corner, "is
right here." She opened the door, picked up my briefcase with some
papers taped to it, and showed it to me. "Do you want it?"

    "No. That's okay. But let me have the report and I'll look at it
later." She pulled the papers from the case and handed them to me, and I
stuffed them in the drawer of the table. The atmosphere had returned to
normal.

    "Jenny, come with me. I need to check on a few things," she reached
up with her right hand and brushed the hair back from her face. "Would
you like to come with us, Ashleigh?"

    Jenny gave a slightly forced smile and said, "Okay, Mom." Ashleigh
said that she thought she would just wait here and keep me company.

    As soon as Helen and Jenny had left the room, Ashleigh came over
and stood right next to the bed.  "The things some people will do to
avoid a girl," she said with a wry smile.

    "I'm sorry, Ashleigh. We still have a few days left. Maybe we
can still get together."

    She shook her head gently from side to side and rested her hand
on my cheek, "It's fate, Larry. They won't let you out before I leave. I
know it. Anyway, I don't care about that. I just wish this hadn't
happened. Seeing you here like this hurts. I wish I could do things like
Jenny to cheer you up and make you feel better, but I just feel so
helpless after all that's happened."

    "That was a very nice sequence you started on Sondra Bethel, Ash. I
loved it, and that was yours."

    "I started it, but if I hadn't, Jenny would have. We think so
much alike. Larry, there were a lot of reasons I wanted to stay with you
before I left, not just the . . . play time things. I wanted the chance
to talk to you and just be with you.  And even if we are moving away for
two years, we'll be coming back once in a while for a weekend or
something, and maybe you and I can get together one of those times if we
can work it out."

    "Ashleigh, if there is any chance at all, we'll do it. I promise."
It was starting to seem that any time I talked to Ashleigh, I found
myself saying things that weren't exactly what I thought I was going to
say. But it was said, and I almost felt good about saying it.

    She bent over and kissed me gently on the forehead. "You don't
have to promise, Larry. But I hope we will." She looked at me for a
moment, then kissed me very softly on the lips. "I hope we will." She
sat down on the side of the bed, almost where Jenny had been sitting,
and took my hand. She began to talk about the movie we had seen a couple
of weeks ago, and continued sitting there passing small talk until Helen
and Jenny returned, then stood up and stepped aside.

    "Larry, I talked to some of my lawyer friends," Helen said as
she entered, "I asked one of them to come by and chat with you tomorrow
before your new girl friend returns. I'll be here if I can, but I have a
class tomorrow afternoon unless I can get out of it. His name is Roger
Collins, and he's a first class ambulance chaser. I've already told him
what I know, including Miss Bethel's visit, so he should know the right
questions to ask tomorrow. He did suggest that if Miss Bethel should
show up tomorrow, you should be unavailable until tomorrow night."

    "I don't know, Helen. I might not be able to resist."

    "Try."

    "Okay, I'll tell the nurses not to let her in until . . . What?
Six or so?"

    "Make it seven. We'll be here by six, but we'll need a little
time."

    "Okay. Are you leaving now?" She was standing, and carrying her
purse.

    "I'm afraid so. They're going to run us out in a few minutes,
anyway." She came over and planted a very warm kiss on me, and our
tongues played tag for a bit, then she stood up and started toward the
door.

    Jenny popped up with, "My turn!" She came over and also gave me
a full open mouth kiss, then stood up and said, "Mmmmm, good!" as she
looked impishly at her mother.

    Somewhat to my surprise, Ashleigh moved up, announced, "I don't
think I'm going to take your word for it," and kissed me. I don't know
what it was; she didn't do anything out of the ordinary, and nothing
that she hadn't done just a couple of minutes before, but her kiss
definitely gave me a jolt. She looked up at Jenny, and agreed, "You're
right, Jen."

    Helen had been watching the whole thing with amusement, and when
Ashleigh straightened up, she came back over to me, and gave me one of
her specials, the kind that makes the hair stand up on my arms and my
legs twitch. She stood up, herded the girls toward the door, turned back
to me and said, "Good night, Larry. Get a good night's rest, and we'll
see you tomorrow." Then she said to the girls as they left the room, "I
got last."














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