Lionel was a difficult man, and we never got on well.”At this point, I took up the cudgels and decided to call a spade a spade.“Patrizio, I am sor...ry to tell you that you missed out on nothing with Lionel. He wasn’t a nice person.”Patrizio ruefully shrugged at my revelation. To at least offer him a crumb of comfort, I added an age-old sentiment that had been told to me by my grandmother, Lionel’s mother.Lionel had lied about his age and went off to war when he was seventeen. My father had done. Mami ki choot ki smell mujhe deewana bana rahi thi. Ab mein mami ki panty ka pani choosne laga. Mami ki bra maine apna laude par daal kar use sahlane laga. Maine mera viry mami ki panty me utar diya. Dopahar ko jab mami kapde dhone lagi tab main jaan bujh kar khidki se dekh raha tha.Mami jab panty dhone lagi, tb woh use thodi chipchipi lagi. Mami ne uski panty sung ke dekhi. Meri toh jaise halat kharab ho gayi thi. Kapde dhone ke baad mami jab ghar ayi tab, wo meri taraf dekh kar hasi aur andar. ‘This is where you’d rather be … isn’t it?’ I said in a moment of boldness. He turned and looked at me, an unsmiling but calm face. ‘Yeah, I suppose it is.’ ‘So what’s keeping you in Spokane?’ He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here right at that moment. ‘Circumstances,’ was all he would say. We walked for a few minutes, moving to a small rise in the meadow. The vista was magnificent. We were surrounded by hills, in a narrow valley that widened as we moved further northeast. This. I just didn’t feel the time was right.’ she finished while watching my expression, ‘What? Why do you have that knowing smile on your face?’ I reached across the table and took her hands into mine and looked up into her eyes, ‘My Dear, even then you were learning not to rush, but to approach things at the right time, and . . . speed.’ ‘Oh fuck you,’ she laughed. Her eyes sparkled in the flickering candle light. I could not keep myself from looking into them. A million stars spun as I fell.