‘Want to swim right away?’ ‘Yeah. I’m gonna go change and drop my bag in your room.’ ‘Alright. Meet you on the patio when you’re ready.�...�� Nicole grabbed her bag and disappeared upstairs. I stepped out onto the patio and grabbed my suit from the pool towel rack and stepped into the bathroom to change. After I changed, I grabbed a couple towels from the laundry room and stepped out onto the patio. I hung the towels over the railing of the steps to the pool deck and sat down to wait for Nicole. I. “At least she was back for the Christmas holidays,” though Becky had little doubt she would be off out drinking and partying for most of the time, and not with her Mum who would be far too old for her. As Stacey walked slowly along the hallway leading to the stairs, she caught sight of herself in the full-length mirror in the hall and from the outside street lamp appraised herself. “Guess I don’t look that bad,” she said quietly, before adding, “in this light,” and then sucking her tummy looked. “Only if it’s necessary,” I replied while trying to make my eyebrows do an evil wiggle.“I guess that’s the best I can hope for,” Becky laughed. She gave Katie a kiss on the cheek and then turned to give me one of the hot kisses we’d spent last weekend working on. “I’ll be back at lunchtime, and I’m bringing Chinese.”We told her goodbye and then Katie took me by the hand and led me back up the stairs to her bedroom. She had a few stuffed animals on a shelf, probably leftovers from when she was. I was wearing it last night. Call it further delirium, or what you will, but I called out to it mentally and was instantly oriented. I was still on the carpet ride and absolutely terrified, but I was anchored.Eventually, I fell back to sleep. Only to have dreams where people were talking to me and I couldn’t understand them. Their voice sounded like several over laid tracks saying the same thing yet, with a watery quality. Everything else was normal. I could almost make out some of the words.