. No way... All the people that continued to be so agreeable around him, doing what he said... He had to test this, but now he was alone! He stepped o...ut of his house, looking around. The neighbor kids were in the playground of the cul-de-sac he lived on, so he headed over there.The little kids there eyed him warily, as normally Jake just ignored them. He went up to one of them, a little boy of about seven. The boy looked up at him.Jake considered before speaking, “Hey, you should, uh, slide. I told Eileen the entire story, and what I'd read into what he was saying."Wow," she said when I was finished. "Wow. We have to do something about this, don't we?" I'm going home for the day on Sunday," I related. "Want to ride down with me?" Yes," she said without hesitation. "Even if it means we have to call off practice."Later in the evening, I trekked over to Inez's place. Evie was also present; the three of us got to talking about my family issues. Evie weighed in with her opinion, and I. She smiled. A cool, polite smile. ‘Can I bother you for a moment?’ I said. ‘Of course. What is it?’ ‘My daughter informs me that Annie is her best friend, and asked if she could have her to stay with us, Friday night. It’s fine by me and I told Judy I’d ask you.’ Catherine Johnson’s smile was warmer and more genuine now. ‘That’s very kind of you. I’m sure she’ll love it. The two of them seem to be on the same wavelength.’ ‘I usually take Judy sailing on a Saturday. I have a little dayboat. I don’t want just any male. I don’t want mistakes and trouble. I love you, and I want you. Mom agrees that it isn’t fair for you to have to do without love because she got sick. Of course, if mom feels good enough, she would always come first, but if mom is sick, I want to be the woman who takes care of you. I want to be your woman and your lover. I hope you love me and want me too dad.”We all knew Beth wasn’t going to have many “good days” from then on, so this was a ceremonial changing of the.