I sat in a chair across from them and as we talked, Tony went into the spiel we’d discussed, saying how lonely his life was since his divorce and ho...w he missed female company. He said he envied us having such a happy marriage and how lucky I was to have such a gorgeous wife.I could see my wife’s face was flushed and didn’t know whether it was the wine or Tony’s remarks but when Tony ran the tip of a finger down her arm, she groaned softly. “Oh I’m sorry Hazel,” Tony apologised, “but I miss the. Carla said."Yes?"."Am I going to be your slave forever?"."You will be my slave for as long as you need." Lisa kissed Carla's forehead and continued "But that's not important. What is important is that you are my friend and you will be as long as I live. And there is nothing you can do to change that." Lisa?" Carla said a few minutes later."Hmmmm?"."Sometimes I get scared." About what?".About people leaving." Like your father?".Carla nodded unable to speak."Hmmm. I think it is time we had some. Ialso noticed I drew a few eyes from a few of the black men who werehanging around. I am sure many wondered who the "new girl" was.Some of the ladies wore head-coverings that I could only describe asNigerian-hair wraps. Many wore large flowery hats, like I wore.Bright colors, lots of greens, purples, and golds, were prevalant.There were many younger black kids, and many of the younger girls worewhite tights, and apparel like cute plaid jumpers. Most of the girlshad their hair braded or. Diana called me and told me to take care of the both of them. She’d heard through the grapevine about Justine, and knew somehow that there was more to Jessie than met the eye. She passed on Donnie’s thanks for coming out hunting. Some other friends did, too, so maybe crop damage would be down a bit next year. I told her I’d see her at the store, and she said, “What, once a month? Jessie won’t be here.”“I’ll try to do better,” I told her, laughing, and hung up.The challenges with Justine were.