” I swept my arm in a broad arc and gestured at the wilderness beyond the walls of the conference room. “Survival is much more than staying alive ...while we wait to die.”I rose from my chair and walked to the edge of the stage. “Most of my life has been as a solitary man with few friends. Alone but not lonely. All my best friends have been female. I have no close male friends. It could be because I was sexually abused as a kid, or perhaps it’s because I’m weird. Whatever the reason, I enjoy the. . are you alright now?" She stood so close I could feel her thighs pressing the back of my head. "Are you going to be alright?" her voice demanding acknowledgement."Yes, I'm fine... just too much to drink I think. Maybe I better get some sleep... I'm really tired."I wanted to forget the last fifteen minutes. I wanted to forget her advances... her expectations of me. I wanted it to be like it was before... "Sure... sleep, I'm sure that's what you need. And... and you're going to sleep soon. Just. “Oh, and that sauna your dad built?” she smirked. “We sit in there naked!”“You mean with a towel around you, like, but naked under that?”“Nope! Naked as the day we were born. Like they used to say in the 60’s, we let it all hang out!”“Now I KNOW my dad and pastor would object to that! Boys and girls naked in the sauna together?” he said, shaking his head.“Jackie,” I said firmly, but calmly, “I’m going to play Kathy’s part and ask you to dial it back just a bit, please.”“Sorry. Jeremiah, do you. When we all settled down enough to be able to converse without bursting out in laughter again, Liya got up from her side of the table, walked around and sat next to Heather and hugged her tightly.“Girl,” she said, “with the power vested in me as the most-recent member of this gang, I hereby demand that you officially become a member. Before you say “yay” or “nay,” I must warn you that there is a gruesome initiation ceremony that involves protons, blood, and magic elixirs. So, agree to join at.