Mom and Dad were snuggled together on the settee, reading books."Is everything okay?" Dad asked."Yeah, we're fine. I just have to pee," I replied. "We...'re running outside to avoid the bridges, Dad. The water is almost flat tonight." I can tell; the ride is very smooth. If you two get tired, come get me and I'll take over," Dad said."Okay, but I think we can do it. I had a short nap this afternoon." We may go in and lay down," Mom said. "Dad and I didn't get a nap and I'm a little tired."I nodded. One happy note in the incident is she made it possible to save the seven children involved. Her family sees this as a major bonus on the plus side of her life. Her passing leaves a big hole, but they close ranks and move on.Gordie is just recovering from that emotional blow when Roberto Ruiz arrives in View Port. Gordie is a very resourceful and unusual boy for his age, but even he isn’t ready for the emotional and psychological conflicts the situation creates. He knows he can kill; he’s. It may have played on her imagination for a week.I possibly disappointed Helen by being gentle. I wanted our first love-making to be a drawn-out discovery of each other and not as rushed and tempest-tossed as Helen’s first kisses. After all, we had a whole day.Helen did indeed twist and squirm against me, and when our lips met, her mouth was as rapacious as I remembered. I turned away from her greedy, already all-demanding mouth and began to kiss her neck, her throat, her eyes, briefly brushing. As she typed, out of the corner of his eyes he caught her looking over at him. He turned and smiled at her, their eyes locking. She looked down, embarrassed by his bold stare. His next move was totally on impulse. They were on the fifth floor, well away from the areas frequented by the regular crowd. He turned and locked the door, and then sat down on the desk beside her. As she stopped typing, he took her hands and pulled her up. He kissed on her soft lips, enjoying her increasingly fervent.