”I put out my hand, in a gesture showing I wished to shake their hands. Hazel held back but Don, now gaining in confidence and looking excited abou...t the situation, took Hazel’s hand and guided her over to my driver's door. I opened the van door and stepped down to the grass, leaving my arm resting through the open window. Don took my hand and shook it, asking where I was from.“Just north of Auckland, what about you guys?”As Don answered that they were from Wellington, I reached around the. You may have heard of it.” He walked over to the bar and picked up a bottle of a popular brand of rum—one often mixed with Coke, found in every bar in America. Rachel and I just looked at each other in bewilderment. “The business got passed down from father to son over the years, and well, the fact of the matter is that today, I own 25% for the company. My brothers pretty much run the business; I just show up for annual shareholder meetings, that sort of thing. The rest of the time, I’m free. "I should have been a little more seductive when we first met, I see." Well, I'm as much a world traveler as any other of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, I suppose," I said, dredging the slang phrase from somewhere. "I was in the Marine Corp. Stationed in Okinawa." I tried to say it in a way that gave the impression I didn't want to talk about it, and I must have done it right, because all I got in response was an "Oh, I see."It was too late in the day to call Darius Booker and let him know I. .. and I left the kitchen. As I opened our bedroom door Keith was fast asleep, his snore, ... loud. I quietly closed the door and walked into the den and sat in a chair quietly... and pondered. I knew he would be asleep for an hour or more. I reached for a magazine as I crossed my legs and began to read. I tried to focus, but my mind wandered off to Michael, once again. I glanced down at my panty hosed thigh as I gave some thought to my next move. Our ground rules were clear, yet moments.