they huddled together , cold and wet , considering the situation . now that you understand why i was distracted , will you help me ? still , she knew that clay was a lot like her-steady and capable . you never advertised this kind of thinking , of course , but it was a given in the department . its time to begin what we were going to start earlier . who knows , we may even run into each other again and ill have more thoughts that may help . i continue to ignore him and he finally drifts away . 