Life is truly a ride. We're all strapped in, and no one can stop it. (Jerry Seinfeld)

She didn’t know if he was elated or bereaved. Everyone held their breath. The moment was suspended as they watched and waited for Tommy’s reaction.

He took a single step and swept her into the air. He spun her around and around and around then stopped abruptly.

“Does this hurt the baby?”

She laughed and kissed him.

The boys cheered and laughed and poured champagne more generously – now they really had cause for celebration.

“Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right!” he sang holding Penny suspended above the ground. “Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here.”

This is where things get interesting because this is where I enter the story. My mother was getting fatter everyday and she had stopped talking to her parents. Tommy pried and she confessed that her father had been the one to report the tip to the police. Tommy didn’t know what to do with the information. The novelty of having someone to share a bed with was wearing off and he slept less. One night when he was strung out with Tony he confessed in the wee morning hours that Penny’s father had made the call. Tony didn’t know what to do with the information anymore than Tommy did.