"What're you doing, Gran?" Chloe squirmed into her grandmother's big chair alongside of her. She watched as Gran Kennedy's fingers ran over the pairs of stockings on her lap. Even at five years old Chloe knew what stockings were - they were what ladies wore to cover up their legs and look pretty when they wore dresses. Not that Chloe liked wearing dresses herself and she definitely didn't want any tight squeezey things on HER legs.

"Cutting up these old stockings, mavaurneen" Maureen held up one pair, "see? This leg has got a run but the other one is fine. So what to do? What to do?"

Little fingers reached out and ran over the slippery material. "Get new ones?"

"Don't want to throw them away. They're still half good."

Chloe watched as her grandmother cut off the leg of one stocking and pair it with another stocking with just one leg, putting the pieces together to form a whole pair.

"We don't want to waste what we have." Gran's arm slipped over Chloe's shoulders tucking her against her side. "Use it up and wear it out, make do or do without. That's what my mother always said. You remember that. No matter how much or how little you have there is always someone who has even less. That's why being wasteful is a very bad thing.

She can't help wondering what her grandmother would think about her life now: how comfortable Chloe is behind the wheel of a car that costs as much as a house, or the way she takes a helicopter to meet Oliver's jet, or the fact that once on the jet she'll open up her laptop to access the satellite that was Oliver's Christmas present to her. There is a safe in the townhouse that holds more jewelry than she'd ever considered owning.

It's a very different world than the one she grew up in. A fact that Lois seemed to remind her of with each visit. Chloe doesn't think about it so much herself anymore; it's just Oliver's way. He gives gifts - generous, extravagant and amazing gifts. Sometimes when she catches a glimpse of herself in the Astin's rear view mirror Chloe can't believe she's the same girl who grew up eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches six nights a week for a year when her father was laid off and now she's behind the velvet rope. For the most part she and Oliver maintain a lower key profile but part of Oliver's cover demands a certain level of visibility so they go out. They're seen, they're photographed and speculated on and none of it bothers Chloe too much because she knows it's in aid of the cause. There's something bigger that they both believe in and work towards. But that doesn't take away the odd feeling of being shown to the best table with Oliver in a restaurant that she wouldn't be able to get so much as a reservation at by herself.

It feels less like a velvet rope and more like a fun house mirror.

A list of lists for today. Tell us about some of the people in your life

4 people you see every day

The nice kid at the coffee shop
Mr Kostrewva at the newsstand
Harvey & Pax
Polly my dog walker

3 people you only see rarely
My mother
Uncle Sam
Lucy

2 people you would never like to see again
BRAINIAC Milton Fine
Any of the special folks from Black Creek

and 1 person you wish was with you right now.
Oliver

Lots of pillows or just one?
Somewhere in between

What kind of books do you read?
I like biographies, science, biology, archaeology, history etc...

What's the best lesson you've ever learned?
To live in this world, you must be able to do three things:
to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing
your life depends on it; and when the time comes, to let go.
- Mary Oliver

What's really creepy?
The way telemarketers know the precise moment when I've JUST gotten into the bathtub and I'm up to my neck in bubbles...and then they call

What kind of movies are you in to?
Right now it's all about the musicals. I just watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Do you prefer your junk food sweet, salty or savory?
Sweet and caffeinated.

What websites do you always visit when you go online?
The Associated Press, NASA, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, my bank, NetFlix


What was the last thing you bought?
Proseco

Do you get cravings? If so, what do you crave?
Sometimes. Usually it's coffee.

What do you do to change your mood?
Take a walk with the dogs, listen to music, read a magazine

What was the last meal you ate?
Muesli

Five things you can't live without?
Coffee - computers - notebooks - cell phone - music

Find the closest book currently sitting near you and flip to page 36. What is the first sentence of the second paragraph?
I heard from him on Thursday, not long after I had been informed that Eddie Heath was dead.

What's something that you'd like to say to someone right now?
Nothing comes to mind.

Do you prefer boxers/briefs/tighty whities on a guy?
I'm not particularly picky about it.

What is your favorite electronic accessory?
My computers

1. Shuffle your iPod/ MP3 player/ iTunes/ Whatever else you have.
2. Answer the questions by the song title that comes up.
3. Don't cheat, it makes every thing more fun!

1.) What is your life going to be like in 5 years ?

Feels Like Today - Rascal Flatts
So while this storm is breaking
While there's light at the end of the tunnel
Keep running towards it
Releasing the pressure, that's my heartache
Soon this dam will break

2.) How is your love life going for you right now?
Last Night I Dreamed You Didn't Love Me - Tragically Hip
Awake empty and out of sleep,
you were beside me gently breathing...
Last night I dreamed you didn't love me

( More beneath the cutCollapse )

Do not condemn the judgement of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong. -Dandemis

( Hard times the throw is off line pictures of black and grey Soft minds backed up by hard drives standing in single file Anything to pass the test Like screaming in the air a sound for all who care The siren rings in vain When lightning hits the ground to all who stand around A shock of ignorance Black lines can turn into battlefields when they are drawn in pain Stop signs like human apathy can cause a fatal crash The feeling hard to tell a word can break the spellCollapse )

1 question...
1 chance...
1 honest answer...

That's all you get. Ask me one question. Any one question, anything, no matter how crazy it is. An honest answer. No catch.

All comments will be fake screened so your question stays private between you and me, and only you will get to see my answer to your question. Repost if you want. It's not required for you to participate here.

I'm with Kara I can handle more than one question possibly.