Gradually, Liv became aware of her aching body. The adrenaline spike from waking up in total darkness was wearing off, giving way to exhaustion and pa...in. Liv began methodically testing her body. Though heavily bruised, everything seemed to work. The seatbelt that saved her life also created a large bruise across her chest. Nothing felt broken. Groaning, she worked on exiting the wrecked car.Liv crawled into the ruined rear hatch. She was almost out of the car when the memory of her pursuer. I asked her what she was thinking. She looked at me and I could see that she was trying to make up her mind about something. Apparently she came to a decision and said:“Remember when I told you this morning that I needed to know you better before I could talk about my private life?”“I remember.”She looked at me quietly for a couple of seconds and then “In all the time we have worked together I’ve never known you to join in when the rumors and gossip came out. I’ve got so much bottled up inside. Anyway, she had far more important things to think about now theprincipal one being what she should wear to her colleague Jane's hennight that evening and, as she busied herself around the house for therest of the afternoon before preparing for her evening out, anythoughts of finding love were pushed well and truly to the back of hermind.------Two weeks later, as Dawn pushed her trolley back to her car aftercompleting her weekly shop she couldn't believe her eyes. A flat tyre!It was fine when. I smiled. Turning my head, I nibbled on her earlobe. "The answer to the question you're going to ask in about twenty or twenty-five minutes." What question?" she asked. Tami had a way of sounding like she was stomping her foot without physically doing it. "And why would I ask it in twenty or twenty-five minutes." Because my love, in about ten minutes, my parents, wonderful creatures that they are, are going to collect our shadows and take them to a movie, then they are going on to dinner with.