Chapter 3

I nodded. She seemed much more open today.

“All right, look through these papers and tell me if you think it’s okay. I did as much as I could withyour research debts. I was afraid you’d get audited if the research debt was too high.”

“That’s fine. The Wol was a really nice guy. I probably would have treated him to dinner anyway. I miss him.”

“What happened to him?” Darlene asked.

“I guess he got recalled. He was afraid it would happen. One night, I went out there, and he was gone.”

“I’m sorry you lost a friend.”

I nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay. Let me look at the papers.”

She placed a folder in front of me. I opened it and started down the first page. I looked through each addendum and finally sat back and smiled at her.

“This is great!” I exclaimed. “I was sure I was going to write a check for thirty percent.” I handed the folder back to her.

“No, no, no.” She laughed. “Even those that should never do.”

“Let’s have a toast to it. Do you have ice?”