bafflement increased when she discovered Miss Tatts' and Mr. Nerdy's shoes lying in a jumbled heap under the living room coffee table.
So, Geek was extremely at ease each day in the control room, while Dweeb's frustration grew with every viewing. Mr. Dorky knew he couldn't fabricate a sufficiently good reason for another trip to Pinewhittle too soon, but he methodically planned a strategy for his ultimate return. The calculating technician fervently hoped he wouldn't be too late when a chance came to make his move on Miss Jade.
Oblivious to the watchful machinations of Mr. Dorky, Jasmine and Mick continued growing fonder of their daily repartees. Clint enjoyed plying Mick with subtle questions concerning Jasmine when she was not within earshot. Loneshark was seldom caught off guard. Indigence played the same game with Miss Jade when Mick wasn't in the vicinity. Jasmine was too savvy to be taken unawares.
Mick and Jasmine remained detached,never confirming any affection for each other.
But alone in the large house during the nocturnal hours, when Jasmine reposed in her empty bower and read of faraway places, she discovered her escape was not as easily attained since Loneshark had entered her valley. Miss Jade could not be aloof with herself. She found her thoughts drifting from the current novel's plot to the memory of her most recent encounter with Mick. And she smiled. Each of those pleasurable moments was always followed by a strict, self-disciplined frown . . . a rigid refusal . . . because at such a relatively young age, Jasmine was jaded. Mortal tragedy had stricken nearly everyone for whom she had ardently cared. Miss Jade had protectively encapsulated her warm heart in an impenetrable shell, vowing to never allow herself to feel the agony of devastated love again. "Survivor's Guilt," Jasmine had once read in a psychology text she had borrowed from Clint. She had thrown the dog-eared volume across the room before reading any farther. Miss Jade refused to be categorized or succumb to suggested self-analysis. She only wanted to be free from the pain. The fictional novels Miss Jade soon developed a preference for acted as an analgesic balm for her emotional anguish. Jasmine's parents had suffered a lingering and painful death. She had adored her mother and father, who had both doted upon her since the day she was born. Mr. and Mrs. Jade had lived long enough to see their beloved only child marry and embark on the happy journey the union should have nourished. So, her parents passed away with, at least, that comfort. Jasmine's husband had been a department manager at the factory. As such, he thought he was protected from the layoffs. When his entire department had been let go there was no one left for him to manage. Jasmine had tried to encourage her husband, but he slowly sank into dipsomania and despair. That final day, after slapping Jasmine, he climbed the mountain with a bottle of whiskey as a companion and fell to his death. Jasmine's strength was always supported by Cale. That lifelong friend had held her hand when she cried and told her corny jokes when she was weary. Miss Jade could not prevent herself
