I have shared things with you I never thought I’d share with anyone. I have done things to you I never thought I would ever to another woman. You ar...e just amazing. You are one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, and yet, so naughty. You have a confidence I hope to have someday.” I told her I now consider you as one of my bests. I have for a while, but never really told you. I guess, in a way, I have a crush on you too.” She asked “Does all this mean I am a lesbian? I’m ok with it if I am, I’m. ‘Have you got any whiskey?’ I asked, remembering the flask he had carried with him from the train station. ‘Yes, in my coat pocket.’ Once I had retrieved the flask, I added it to my collection of makeshift nursing equipment. I picked up the bowl of hot water and held it in my lap as I sat beside Erich on the bed. Very softly, I began to bathe his wound in the scalding water. He pursed his lips and breathed calmly as the cloth made contact with his thigh. When the water began to turn cold, I set. I concentrated on what I could see of the passing scenery by night and learning enough to get by of a couple of the major dialects of Chinese. During the journey, various travelers joined and left the caravan as intermediate stops were reached. We were already in China when another closed wagon joined the caravan.I, of course, was only out of my wagon at night. It was on one of those nights that I observed a group of men slip into camp and attempt to steal that other wagon. I had leaped among. And the reason he was so much out of shape was entirely due to a lack of exercise and a surfeit of Domino's Pizzas. The waking part of his life was dominated by porn. This consumed almost every hour he was awake, even though there was only so much time in the office he could spend surreptitiously surfing on his iPhone. Frustratingly, there were also times when he had to do the work for which he was paid. And this was as a system tester in the Council Offices for the London Borough of Waltham.