Sis was silent for a little while, then asked "Okay, if I can make sure that there won't be any problems, you'll do it?"

I gave her another hug before answering "If you can make sure, I'll do it."

As Janet and I continued to sit there, I knew that my questions weren't the end of it. I would readily admit that Janet was the "faster" thinker of the two of us, just as I knew that she'd concede that I thought "deeper" than she did; I pretty much figured that she'd still come to me to make sure there wasn't something she wasn't leaving out. That proved to be just what happened over the course of the next few weeks.

Knowing that Sis hadn't given up on the idea, I wasn't surprised when she finally let me know that Nadia was actively interested in the solutions Janet had offered, and that she was prepared to deal with the few issues she hadn't already taken care of. Grinning, I let her know that when Nadia was ready, I'd be available.

I found out how carefully Janet had thought things through when she asked for, and got, permission for Nadia to spend the night when Mom and Dad told us that they would be attending a Saturday trade show related to Dad's engineering business -" they'd leave home the day before, spend the night in a hotel, attend the show, and come home that evening.

Mom and Dad's departure wasn't all that big of a deal -" they were going to be back the next day, and Sis and I had already demonstrated that we were mature and responsible enough to be left alone. We had a list of phone numbers we could call for different needs or emergencies, as well as Mom and Dad's cell phone numbers, and one of Dad's credit cards for *emergency* use. After making sure that Sis and I still knew the rules (such as they were), each of us got a kiss from Mom before they left. Shortly after we finished supper, Nadia came over; she and Sis quickly disappeared into Sis' room, leaving me to entertain myself with a movie on TV.