He blinked when the light went on.There was surprise and pleasure in her pastel blue eyes. They had a humid look as she gazed at him raptly. "Leslie, ...you look just *darling.* I had forgotten. --Take off your nightie." Huh?" I'll take mine off too. Go ahead, it's all right for girls to see each other, especially when they're sharing a bedroom."She crossed her arms, ducked her head, and pulled the nightgown off; then helped him remove his own.Mrs. Chard sat back against the headboard. "Kneel in. Rachel gave credit where credit was due in her writeups on my bill, but she did make the point that it had been my campaign promise. She made a big deal about how I had carried through on the promise, a rare thing in politics. I was the talk of the town, at least in the coffee shops, for about two days before something else caught the public eye. Still, I was very happy with the result of my efforts, and I hoped to have it be the launching pad for a series of triumphs.HA! I finished the first. "I took out my driver's license and showed it to the waiter too. "She really is my daughter, I promise."He smiled. "Of course, sir."When the waiter came back with the wine list, I said, "Give it to the birthday girl. She is the guest of honor."Sally looked at the list. After the waiter left, she said, "I don't know anything about wine, Daddy, you choose."I looked at the list, and decided on a bottle of Kendall Jackson cabernet sauvignon. When the waiter returned with a bottle of the wine, two. Grim, your grandfather died.” I could hear the tears in her voice.My mind blanked. Grandpa dead? That was impossible! The man was larger than life to me. “Wha ... what...”“Grim, your mother just called. You need to come home.”“How?”Kelly was still crying. “Come home, Grim. I don’t know all the details, but he died in his sleep. Come home, hun.”“Yeah, I’m coming home.”I ended the call and stood there for a moment before sitting on a bench in the hall. That was where Bill Geary found me, just.