I had turned my cell off as soon as I had called the cab in Dallas. Turning it back on I checked my messages to find no less than eleven calls from Gl...oria and one from her mother. As I expected, Frank was respecting my wish to be left alone for now. I deleted all the messages from Gloria, but I listened to the one from Helen."Jack, I know you are upset and angry right now, and rightfully so. What my daughter has done to you is horrible, and maybe unforgivable. I only hope that you can rise. I raised my head a fraction and then it flopped backagain as if my neck muscles didn't exist."James, do you know where you are?" The voice sounded American and thatconfused me. I tried to speak but my mouth was so dry and my tongue feltstuck to the top of my mouth."Meriga?" I managed to mumble.The female voiced laughed gently, and said, "No, you're in hospital inThailand." Oh, how did I get there?" I managed to say, "I live in England."Another small laugh. "You're in hospital in Koh Samui,. Your courage has led you all the way here. I’ll always admire and respect that.” One of his hands released hers. He reached up to touch her face again. “There is much I want to show you, to tell you, and to be for you. And there is much I want you to be for me. We haven’t talked much about ‘being mine’. It’s been at the back of our conversations. It’s an assumption we’ve both made. We always knew that in order for this to go forward, you had to be mine. The whirlwind of. “What then?”“You’ll see.” She stood and picked up her wine glass. “Come on, bring the bottle. I’ve got a new DVD I want to watch.”We settled in our usual position on the sofa, me sitting at one end, her sitting next to me, legs tucked up underneath her and her head resting on my shoulder. I set the movie running, threw the remote on the sofa beyond Clarissa and put my arm around her to pull her even closer than she already was—if that was possible.The film was some soppy American Rom-Com—not.