"OK, if I tell you something, please don't judge me. Don't call me crazy.Or if I am crazy, say it nicely."I gulped,"It was magic." Magic?" Magic. I fo...und a device which said I could spend one day experiencingwhat it would be like if I'd been born female. Of course I didn't expectit to work. But when I woke up on Saturday, I was a girl. At least, that'show I remember Saturday. I spent the day as a girl and did the things Iwould have done if I was born Paula instead of Paul. Including going tothe. The issue I had before,” I said gently, “was the nagging. I know the issues, but I chose to take the calculated risk. It’s been a source of conflict, and we need to find a way forward or we’re going to continually derail our trio.”“I guess I just don’t understand how someone so intelligent, who understands the risks, can do that.”I smiled, “That’s just it, Babe. I understand the risks. Smoking a few cigars or smoking my pipe three or four times a year doesn’t significantly increase my risk of. I swore to my husband as he died I would find the Hero of Lilies and witness his kingdom restored. That I would walk the centuries, searching for her, waiting for the signs to be right, and then ensuring she regained what was stolen from her ancestor.”Lady Delilah’s eyes fixed on me, the green depths burning with a fiery fervor. “For you, Angela. I have waited for you. I can see it in your eyes. You have Rose’s face and his nose. You are their descendant. You have found his sword. You overcome. Swirling sheets of water pounded the car. Trees bent, as if in obeisance to the storm. Until this blew over, driving was out of the question. It was too noisy inside the car to talk. At first, we just stared through the fogged-up windshield at nature’s onslaught. Then we both turned and looked at one another. It was no casual glance. Somehow, we’d become more than just strangers in a storm. Those soft brown eyes seemed to search my soul, my heart. I watched, mesmerized, as she bit her lower.