As they shook hands, Mac suddenly realized he actually admired Clara. Dukey certainly had his hands full with this one, he chuckled inside, oh boy did he. Yet there was a fire in this woman that was quite attractive. Plus he couldn't get out of his mind how her thigh felt under his palm. Shaking his head, he tried to rid that thought from his mind. You are, like it or not, now a man of God. One by one, he was tackling his vices. He was clean of drugs for nearly six months. Liquor was a more difficult battle. His biggest demon, however, was definitely that of the flesh. That one might just take him a few decades to conquer.<br/><br/>Amazingly he also came to realize the hangover was completely gone. As was the effects of the wine. Suddenly he felt great. Lighting a cigarette, he grinned. "If Mookie is anything like her mother, her brother will certainly have his hands full, that's for sure. And I mean that in a good way!"<br/><br/>Deep down, though, he couldn't help but wonder about these voices Clara was hearing from her belly. As they walked, in as calm a voice as he could muster.. "Clara, it is true that life begins once there is conception. That is absolute and true in any life form. The mind, however, doesn't develop the ability of speech until many months after birth. So in that way, I am a bit concerned about the.. about you hearing.. about Mookie speaking to you as she does. Aren't you also somewhat curious how this is possible?"<br/><br/>The minister stopped, watching for her reaction. Surely, this time, she would see the logic in his thoughts. "I say this both from the viewpoint of a servant of God, and as a person of this modern age." He waited, body tense ready to spring back if she attacked. Eyes drifted down to her thigh again before they sprang back to her face, relieved she hadn't seen. Focus, fool, he swore at himself.