As they hardened, her murmurs of encouragement were all I needed. After a while she said, so softly I almost didn’t hear, “Harder, Jenny. Harder w...ith your fingers. I like that.” “Tell me if it is too much,” I said, complying carefully at first, then more firmly. It seemed to be doing what Evelyn wanted because her hand was moving between her legs at the same time. But she was true to her word about taking things slowly. After a few minutes she said, “Rest now. You did it well. Did it do. And he knew that both of them had had their noses pasted inside one book or another for the last two weeks. Their sighs and moans of excitement while reading those books had ... almost ... caused him to inquire as to what was so interesting. But he was the older brother, and whatever interested his baby sisters was surely nothing he’d be interested in.“I’m gonna drop you off and keep practicin’,” he announced as he pulled up in front of the school.“No! You can’t!” cried Bernadette. “We can’t go. You don’t seem happy for me.’ He began to follow her across the room. ‘No, Nic, its wonderful news, fantastic for you. I think you should definitely do it. Go, have a good time.’ ‘Allison, what’s wrong?’ He asked emphatically, as he never called her Allison. ‘No, Nic, it’s a great opportunity, and I think it comes at a good time, because I don’t think this is working out for me,’ she said and turned to walk away from him, but he grabbed her arm. ‘What are you talking about, not working out. “I picked all of YOU.”“He does have a point!” Kimmy said. “But I agree, he’s stalling.”“Deborah,” I said.“Defend your decision,” Cindi demanded.“In my opinion, she’s the best candidate. She’s not going to be afraid to confront me, and she made that clear in the interview.”“How?”“She was direct, and honest, and wasn’t afraid to say things which with a different interviewer might have gone sideways very quickly. She’s aggressive, wants the job, and has a clear exit plan.”“Exit plan?” Elyse asked..