It's been a long time. I see the arm is better." Oh, it's much better," she said as she backed up, trying to look at him but once again being unable t...o. "Simon took the cast off early, and he told me that not only did the bones heal in record time, but they healed stronger than he'd ever seen bones knit before." It's true," the man who'd been examining the women on the beds said as he got up, "I swear, it looks like they might be stronger than they were before."Alex examined the man and. I didn't. I was very interested in girls, but I didn't have the knack for talking to them that Jimmy did. I was always the quiet one when my cousin and I were out somewhere together. He was as bold as a brass monkey with people, even total strangers."We're meeting Donna and Linda over at the carnival tonight, Paulie. You need to bring ten dollars, so we can take them on some of the rides, and then get something to eat and drink."Tickets to the rides were only ten cents each. Hot dogs were. She said she was in a yoga class and needed a little more time to get the full benefit of the class. I told her to take all the time she wanted and she told me to expect her home on Tuesday evening.Tuesday came and I had the house spotless, the kids scrubbed and in their Sunday best and all four of us were waiting anxiously for Angie to get home. She pulled into the drive at a quarter to six and the kids ran out to meet her. They monopolized her until she put them to bed and then she grabbed me. Finally, after a month, the King’s uncle summoned Jean for an audience.The boy-king was so impressed by Jean’s exploits that he rewarded him with a small treasury as compensation for his losses. He also paid Jean a year’s past wages, at the pay rate for a knight, even though he had only been a knight for the past few months. Lastly, he named Sir Jean a Knight of Honor, part of the royal household, earning him a substantial yearly stipend.Even though the trip had taken much longer than he had.