She took the envelope and wrote on it, returning it unopened to Dumont.Rummy responded, "He had an appointment, Helen — should be back in an hour or... two."Dumont grimaced. "A convenient appointment, I think. Werner didn't want to get any further into this than he is already."Helen went to one of the desks and perched on it. "All right, Paul, let's cut the crap. What is 'this' and what is your role in it? Werner is only 'in it' because I asked him to string you along." Johannes stood to one side. “Not really,” I said lightly. “His opinions are his. You’re not on the hook for what he thinks happened.”“I’ll straighten him out,” she assured me. “Maybe we can bond over yelling at him together.”That got her a smile from Jane. It was small, but it was there. We said goodnight and then continued our walk around the room. Marty and Sissy were still on the dance floor, so there was no chance to talk to them. Instead, Jane finished her drink and we went out to join the dancers. The crowd had. What Art had not planned for was hisability, or lack thereof, to hold his alcohol. He had not drank much inhis sixteen years, a few around friends houses or family gatherings. Awhole bottle of wine had proven to be a bit much. While he had plannedto be tipsy he had now found himself decidedly drunk, and the littlevoice in the back of his head that had been telling him to dress up andleave the house for the past couple of weeks had become impossible toignore. And now he found himself outside,. His arms also went around her and they fell back on the sofa. Their lips and tongues were still writhing together. John slid his hands along her back, pushing, tugging her t-shirt up and groping her bare skin with his long, strong and warm hands making her want more. He had pushed her shirt up around her armpits and now he could not go much further without breaking the kiss. He pushed back a little, sat up a bit and looked in her eyes, as if asking if she wanted him to go on. She knew to stop.