” The odd murmur went around the table. “You all know me, too. I have memories of sitting on some of your knees, being given candy when you came t...o do business with Great-Grandpapa. We would all like to have his guidance now.”She sat. The others took their cue. Generalissimo Ramirez finally walked to his seat by her left side and took his chair. Maria continued.“If Great-Grandmama were to walk through that door right now, I would happily give this seat back to her. I am to be fitted for La. It was also the right ratio for what I saw in the tunnel.”Mark added, “That’s consistent with what my group did. We pushed it from 36:107 to 37:110.”Ashley was listening from nearby. “Mark, that means there must have been another four women who came to parties, sometime betweenFatima’s ride and ours. I wonder which party they went to.”“It wasn’t It’s My Party,” saidFatima. “I would have seen them.”Jada finished the thought. “And Emily and I pushed the numbers to 37:112, the final total of 149.. She started to cry as she told us about her boyfriend. We knew that she had been married forever. He was an extra marital affair that had ended recently. He gave her the videotapes that he had made of their rendezvous. It seems that one-week every year they got together and each videotape represented one year. She couldn’t hide all of those tapes from her husband forever and wanted them put on DVDs that she could hide easily. My wife said that we would be pleased to make copies for her but that. Just as soon as its open, I greet him with an unexpected hug. You re such an idiot for coming over at this time of night! But its 8! he says, startled. I was going to sleep, I reply, yawning. Do you want something to drink? I ask him, feeling more polite than Id like. He nods slightly. I direct him towards the kitchen. So how are you coping? he asks me. The softness of his voice makes me soften a little. Im coping, you know, I shrug as though its not affecting me that much. Thanks, he.