But if I was a betting man, we could easily have work for another twelve or fifteen J.D. Edwards and AS/400 engineers, and the work for them would be ...ongoing.”“And those projects are all the short term, four to six week jobs?” Alexa asked, and David said that was the case. “Well, there’s your cash flow solution, get the extra staff and take on more of these jobs. They seem to be very profitable, you have a great record of success with them, they are low risk, high reward jobs, and they are the. “That’s not going to happen. I made a deal with Mom. Neither of us will let the other’s property go all of the way without at least permission, and normally the other’s presence!”“You what?” I asked“This goes back a long time ago, but I caught Mom blowing one of my boy friends back in middle-school. I was so pissed that I told her I was going to tell the police. She said she would share dad with me if I would not go to the police. So we worked out our truce then. No fucking the other’s. There was a minute of silence as we both pondered how to proceed. He broke the awkwardness, "So, glad you decided to come."I was so nervous that I had barely taken a good look at the stranger in my car. His voice was reassuring for some reason, so I took my first real look at him. Probably closer to 50, rather than the 40 he claimed on the phone, he was still in decent shape with just a hint of a belly. His glasses were hip and rounded out his quite handsome face. He was dressed casually. A promise. To go shopping with you. To leave early – and to be able to spend the day in Target, and in the mall, and then to share some time and smiles and conversation, reflecting on the day of shopping, while having dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. And then to hit a different Target on the way home, just because we can. A promise. Made to a friend. And then as I walked through the mall, I came upon a mall directory. ‘Yes…so…every mall has a directory.’But I looked at it. And thought. Another.