"Now now." Kerry maneuvered her way through the lines of boxes on the floor of the living room, most partially filled with various things. "No fighting, children." She accepted a glass from the tray and took a sip of it, agreeably surprised to find it lemonade. "So now that all three of us arehere, I'm sure we'll get even less done."

Angie took a seat on one of the stools. "Probably," she admitted, scrubbing her hair out of her eyes. "Boy, this is a lot of crap." She glanced at her sister who was leaning against the bar. "Maybe I should have hired someone to pack it all up and take it."

Kerry studied the living room floor. They'd been working since breakfast to sort out a lifetime of memories, trinkets, and items that even Angie had some trouble identifying. There were fifteen boxes on the ground, and thirty or forty plastic bags piled haphazardly around full of trash and things her sister could bear to give up. "You'd have ended up having to sort it out over at the house. You know that place. It's got no closets and this stuff won't fit in the attic."

"Mm."

Mike surveyed their work. "Holy cow," he said, after a moment. "What is all this stuff?"

Angie sighed. "Stuff," she admitted. "Stuff from when we were kids. Stuff from my kids." She gazed quietly at the boxes. "Letters."

Kerry rested her chin on her fist. "We'll get through it," she said. "Now that we're started, and Mike will help. Right?"

"Um--" Mike looked at his older sister seeing her brow arch. "Yep! I sure will," he hastily agreed. "Besides, I hear we get dinner out of all this."

Kerry rolled her eyes.

Angie snorted. "Oh, yeah," she addressed Kerry. "Mom called. She's got reservations at the Clearbrook. Are you going to freak?"

The Clearbrook Golf Club. Kerry remembered so many Sunday dinners at the Clearbrook, a stuffy and conservative bastion of very decent food she had been unable to fully enjoy. It had been her father's favorite 'neighborhood' place to show off his family and hold a very informal court. "Hm."

"Food isn't bad," Mike said. "If you get past all the frilly crap on the plate."

"Ker?" Angie moved closer to her. "I didn't say yes or no. You worked your ass off all day, if you want to go get pizza, I'm there."

Kerry gazed quietly past the boxes for a moment. "Nah," she finally said. "Let's get it over with." She straightened up. "Like Mike said, they've got decent food and I can shock three quarters of the town if I start a belching competition with him in the middle of dinner."

"Ker." Angie covered her eyes, while her brother snickered. "Please don't make me have to listen to her bitch for six months."

Kerry chuckled and patted her sister on the shoulder. "I'll be good." She promised. "Now c'mon. Let's get through this side of the room at least before dinner." She circled the counter and pushed Mike ahead of her. "Grab that box."

"Uh--shouldn't I watch for a while to get clued in on your system, sister?"

"Clue this, you lazy punk." Kerry lazily turned and roundhouse kicked him in the ass, sending him nearly head over heels across the room. "C'mon, the faster we do this, the faster it's done."

"Ow!" Mike yelped. "Bet you wouldn't talk like that to Dar!"

"Bet she'd kick you a lot harder."


Chapter Four

DAR LEANED BACK in her chair, the soft murmur of conversation around her as she watched Alastair order a bottle of wine from a very deferential waiter.

Hans was seated next to her looking pleased. Across the table, David McMichael and Francois Aubron were in obvious high spirits bestowing happy looks in her direction, as they waited for the server to leave and conversation to resume.

"Dar, I'm very glad you chose to join us for this meeting," David said. "It's so nice to finally meet you after all these years."

"Nice?" Dar's eyebrows lifted, but she smiled to take the edge off. "Wouldn't have missed it."

"I am thinking we would not be having this meeting if not for you in any case," Hans chimed in. "Or for me either, in fact," he added, after a pause.

"Without a doubt, without a doubt," David said. "It's a great opportunity for us to gain brilliant new partners, and investigate new business avenues."

"Do you talk to these people regularly?" Hans asked Dar in German.

Dar nodded. "On the phone," she clarified.

"Do you make faces at them?"

"Constantly."

"Gut." Hans smiled benignly at his new colleagues.

Dar steepled her fingers and tapped the edges against her lips, hiding a smile. "What do you recommend here, David?"

"Everything," David answered without hesitation. "If you eat the napkin you'll be fine," he advised. "I'm for the ox tongue, myself."

Dar eyed the menu, and wondered if she could get away with having a rabbit appetizer without having to admit that to Kerry. After a brief wrestle with her conscience, she folded her arms and looked up to see the waiter patiently waiting for her.

Huh? Dar started to frown, and then realized it was because she was the only woman at the table. Heroically managing not to roll her eyes, she gave the bunny a last regretful thought and glanced at the menu one last time. "I'll take the scallops and the lamb roast, please."

"Excellent," the waiter responded immediately. "Sir?" He turned next to Alastair.

Dar picked up her glass of white wine and sipped cautiously, finding it mild and a little sweet. "Nice." She lifted the glass toward David.

He beamed at her.

"So," Alastair said as he put his reading glasses into his pocket, "are we all ready for tomorrow? Hans, I understand you have a well established relationship with our new partner in this venture."

"I do," Hans agreed. "He is uncompromising, but he is fair."

"You brushed up on your English since the last time we met," Dar remarked dryly in German, chuckling under her breath when he blinked innocently at her. "Prussian fraud."

"Ah, we all have our secrets," Hans acknowledged. "And speaking of this how is your charming wife?

"Doing fine, thanks." Dar smiled. "Alastair, let's make sure we put together a comprehensive package for this one. No ala carte."

The two sales executives looked at their boss, who pursed his lips for a moment before he answered.

"I don't want to be hasty," Alastair said. "If that's the plan, and I think it's a good one, Dar, then we need to take enough time to make sure we get all the wants and needs crossed and tied up." He picked up his wine glass and swirled it, then took a sip. "This is a big deal, and I want to be sure we can deliver what we promise."

Hans grunted and nodded, but didn't say anything.

"There's a lot riding on this. Lots of people watching," David spoke up. "You know, we've always been reasonably successful here, but that whole American company thing is tough to get past in a lot of places."

Dar lifted her hand, and let it drop. "We can't change that," she said, "and besides, we're high technology. It's not like America doesn't have a history of that."

"True," David said. "And that's why we've been as successful as we have, because that's exactly where a lot of this starts, and a lot of it generates from. "

"It also helps," Francois spoke up, "that the offices here are all local people."

Alastair sniffed and sipped his wine. "Well, just because I grew up on a farm outside Houston doesn't mean I'm dumb," he said. "Of course people want to deal with folks they can talk to, who understand their culture and share the same views and values."

"You grew up on a farm?" Dar interrupted. "Alastair I can't imagine you in overalls."

Everyone around the table laughed, as Alastair gazed drolly at Dar. "Thanks, Dar." He sighed. "Remind me to swap donkey tales with you later on."

They paused, as the waiter returned with a busboy and a tray and their first courses were delivered. Dar studied the three dimensional food artwork in front of her and picked up her fork, not entirely sure where she was supposed to stick it.

Oh well. There was always room service if she couldn't figure it out.

KERRY GOT OUT of the truck, closing the door and brushing a bit of cardboard scrap off the sleeve of her blue sweater as she waited for Angie and Mike to join her.

It was soft and cashmere, and had a casual elegance about it that she liked, especially when paired with her jeans and leather boots.

"Mom's gonna croak." Angie indicated her sister's denims.

"Not my fault," Kerry said. "I came up here to move boxes. She picked the pretentious place for dinner." She adjusted the three quarter sleeves and ran her fingers through her hair. "Let's go get this over with."

"Y'know," Mike spoke up, "I don't think she wants to piss you off again, Ker." He walked next to his older sister as they crossed the parking lot and approached the entrance of the club, where valets were busy handling a parade of well dressed diners. "It didn't sound that way to me."

"Me either," Angie chimed in. "Honestly Ker, he's right. I think she wants to make peace."

"Well," Kerry grunted as they reached the sidewalk and headed for the double doors, "that's up to her. I hope you're both right." She politely edged around a group of three older women standing on the stairs, ignoring the looks she got as she pinned the doorman with her eyes and dared him to say anything. "Good evening, Charles."

Caught by surprise, the elderly man gaped at her for a second, and then collected himself and reached for the door handle. "Good evening, Miss Kerry. It's been such a long time."