Sara helped Esmerelda into her small backpack, used for carrying water and some nibble food. As determined as Esmerelda was, it didn"t make sense to load down a woman in her mid-seventies with a full pack, even if she projected a prodding mother whose strength never quit.
Huxley, Thanh and several others joined them. Huxley gave Sara a squeeze around her shoulders and a special smile. She could never get enough of looking into his eyes. She and he had been, after all, a couple for years. She had reached midlife and Huxley was four years her junior. Friends speculated they would one day marry. It might happen. They shared the same energy levels, much the same each had in youth. Now they shared a common purpose in life that bonded them. Sara and Huxley had long ago sealed their commitment t
