I’m not taking off my pants, so it shouldn’t matter.’ He slid the shirt down to reveal a gray sleeveless undershirt as he said, ‘Unless, you�...�re uncomfortable.’ He’d also uncovered a wide tattoo that encircled his arm just above his right bicep. He’d never mentioned having a tattoo, but there it was. What she could see of it was a solid band of black around his arm. There was no ornamentation. She watched it flex and disappear as he pulled the arms of the robe up. The openings fell about five. A flash of lightening is followed by a deafening thunderclap, and then, his ears still ringing with that sound, some strange noises he cannot identify, then the deluge drowns out their echo. After a while, as swiftly as the thunderstorm and the pouring rain had arrived, they end. He comes out of the cave, to see not far away from him, below, splayed out on a rock and half immersed in the water of the now swollen stream, the broken remnants of a carriage, with two dead horses, in their. He obviously didn't understand what was going on. Maybe someday I'd tell him. I hadn't known him for very long, but he was a good friend.December 20th was a Saturday, and that was the day scheduled for the company Seasonal Party. I thought that was a stupid name. Everybody knew it was the Christmas party. I guess we had Seasonal decorations and a Seasonal tree in the corner of the office. We exchanged Seasonal gifts, I guess.Our boss and the senior architect that made Mile High Design work,. It had taken some time to assure her that it had nothing to do with her, that he didn’t want her to be like those women, and he didn’t prefer them to her. When she had calmed down, she’d said that wasn’t her concern, but she hadn’t specifically said what bothered her. They’d reached something of a don’t-ask/don’t-tell compromise. She never mentioned it again, and he made sure to be careful only to look when she wasn’t home, and to clear out his cache when he was finished. He also didn’t watch.