Ocean tides altered course, and solar systems shifted. What do you think? she asked . Mauve with peach?It's very hip, Mr. Bolitar . She always called him Mister; Big Cyndi liked formality . Tom and Esperanza exchanged vows in a quaint church. White poppies lined the pews. Tom's side of the aisle was dressed in black and white a sea of penguins. Esperanza's side had so many colors, Crayola sent a scout. It looked like the Halloween parade in Greenwich Village. The organ played beautiful hymns. The choir sang like angels. The setting could not have been more serene . For the reception, however, Esperanza and Tom wanted a change of pace. They rented out an S&M nightclub near Eleventh Avenue called Leather and Lust. Big Cyndi worked there as a bouncer and sometimes, very late at night, she took to the stage for an act that boggled the imagination . Myron and Ali parked in a lot off the West Side Highway. They passed a twenty-four-hour porn shop called King David's Slut Palace. The windows were soaped up. There was a big sign on the door that read now under new management . Whew. Myron pointed to the sign. It's about time, don't you think?Ali nodded. The place had been so mismanaged before . When they ducked inside Leather and Lust, Ali walked around as though she were at the Louvre, squinting at the photos on the wall, checking out the devices, the costumes, the bondage material. She shook her head. I am hopelessly nanve . Not hopelessly, Myron said . A li pointed at something black and long that resembled human intestines . What's that? she asked . Dang if I know . A re you, uh, into...?Oh no . Too bad, Ali said. Then: Kidding. So very much kidding . Their romance was progressing, but the reality of dating someone with young kids had set in. They hadn't spent another full night together since that first. Myron had only offered up brief hellos to Erin and Jack since that party. They weren't sure how fast or slow they should go in their own relationship, but Ali was pretty adamant that they should go slow where it concerned the kids . A li had to leave early. Jack had a school project she'd promised to help him with. Myron walked her out, deciding to stay in the city for the night . How long will you be in Miami? Ali asked . Just a night or two . Would it make you retch violently if I say I'll miss you?Not violently, no . She kissed him gently. Myron watched her drive off, his heart soaring, and then he headed back to the party . Since he planned on sleeping in anyway, Myron started drinking. He was not what one would call a great drinker he held his liquor about as well as a fourteen-year-old girl but tonight, at this wonderful albeit bizarre celebration, he felt in the mood to imbibe.