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Show 118 The moment Karl returned her to her chair, Yulyona was surrounded by a circle of men. "No," he heard her say, "thank you, no. I can't dance any more tonight. Thank you, I just can't." Karl knew he'd never get near her again, so he decided to go home. He could still feel the pressure of her body against his, and he wanted to savor the sensation to the fullest. Stumbling a little, Karl searched for Andy, and found him hunched forward on a bench, elbows on knees, head on hands, his fingers dug into the thick blond hair over his temples. "Oooh, I don't feel so good," Andy moaned. "I think I drank too much." "Will you be all right?" Karl asked. As he spoke, he noticed himself listing to the left. He concentrated to straighten his body. "He be all right." One of Andy's aunts had brought him a cup of coffee. Gently raising his head, she eased the cup against Andy's colorless lips. "Is wedding, no?" the aunt asked Karl. "Everybody have good time. Andrej have maybe too much good time, but he be all right." "I'm going home," Karl said, raising his voice to be heard above the buzzing in his head. "G'night, Karl," Andy mumbled against the rim of the cup. "G'night, Andy. It was a swell wedding. Sure was." Outside, a few stars managed to be visible in the smoke-filled sky. Karl tried breathing deeply to clear his head, but the smoky air made him cough. He didn't care; he was delightfully happy, and pleased with his feet for taking him home the right way. "Yulyona," |