Inside the house, the girls were adamant that I needed to sit in the middle of the couch — Karen and Donna were content to sit next to me, but Wendy insisted on taking station on my lap.

Clearly amused at my predicament, Teresa sat in a chair nearby. All four of them caught me up on all that had happened, and been happening, in their lives — the girls more so than Teresa.

When asked if I wanted anything to drink, I said a beer would be good, if they had any. Donna said they did, and jumped up to go get it for me. When she came back and handed it to me, I couldn't help but notice the way the shirt she was wearing pulled taut across her chest, revealing a couple of small bumps about where her nipples had to be. I could feel myself blush faintly as I thanked her, and she just just gave me a smile before sitting next to me again.

Then it was my turn to tell them about my new job, and what I'd be doing. Engineering isn't what you could call a real exciting subject for most people, so I kept it brief in the interest of not putting them to sleep. By the time I was done, Teresa informed me that I was the guest of honor at supper that night. I thanked her, admitting that I'd gotten tired of either eating prepackaged stuff and my own cooking long before, which made her laugh. She detailed the girls to go out and get my stuff from my car and down into the basement, and only had to insist just once in response to their mild protests. When they were gone, she told me "It really is good to have you here, Ted. Not just because you're family, or the added income, but because ALL of us have missed you — even me. Hell, maybe me most of all; that rat bastard I was married to always came in a pretty distant second, compared to you. But you were married to my spoiled older sister, and I know that I did the best I could to make MY life and family happy."

I couldn't help giving her a wry grin before I answered "When I started looking back on it, I realized how many times you tried to let me know what Judy was really like.