Conversation went on well into the night, which was fine for Paul and mostly okay by me. I've adapted my schedule to be more nocturnal, although my natural body rhythms tend to rebel against it. Not long after midnight, most of my family was yawning and heading to bed. I wasn't sleepy yet, though. We'd caught a red-eye flight from DC to San Francisco this morning and arrived just in time to make it to a hotel before dawn. I'd slept through most of the day and gotten up in time to make the drive to my parent's house just after dusk, when Paul could go outside without exploding.

Mom gave me a hug and a kiss on her way to bed. "I've made up your room for you, honey. We've been using it as a guest room, so it's not exactly like you left it, but I think it&...

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