His name was the improbable Emerson L. Palmer, and people of a certain age always asked if his middle name was Lake. His deadpan reply was "No, it's L...ewis." We just called him 'Em'. He was a major in the Army.As if on cue I heard a soft feminine voice call out my name."Bill, is that you?" It was Crissy Palmer."Shit", I thought, I'm busted. I knew she couldn't see me in the dark, but she'd heard the ruckus and might call the cops if she thought there was a prowler. I knew I couldn't slink away. Putting all that make-up on! Pushing up their tiny breasts to try and make them look bigger! Trying to look like some kind of magazine model or like one of the singers in the girl groups they liked. And for what? For boys who just didn't care anyway. They were more fun just as friends. Okay, you couldn't have a boy as a best friend exactly. Then he would be a boyfriend. And that might mean shagging or something, and Karen wasn't sure she was ready for that.She enjoyed snogging. That was fun!. Tommy liked that part of the job. My son grabbed a quick shower and we headed for the supermarket for some take-out from the deli counter. A while later we were back at the motel, enjoying our impromptu meal. As we finished our food, I briefed Tommy on the day’s activities, including my contacting a divorce lawyer and my conversation with his mother. ‘I think she’s finally figured out this is real and not just some temper tantrum on my part. I’ve told her you’re with me, and you’re okay. Have. Sighing she just hated that she had to wait, though she did understand that her ship wanted to be at a hundred percent before she assumed command. ________________________________________ Several hours later Joseph Hartwell moved into the shadows, he'd been moving up for an hour now. He'd almost gained entry into the palace of the Duke..