Chapter 13

Summertime, and the living oughta be easier. I stood in the window and tried to feel positive. I'd moved Annie and the kids up to the top floor, got myself a little privacy. She didn't seem to mind: needed her space too, I guess. Kids bothered me a tad though. Little Doug watched me like a dam' hawk, copied me some, and Lizzie kept bringing me daisy chains, pretty stones, stuff like that, so my coffee table was littered with dead flowers and gravel. I went to fetch another beer, got interrupted by the phone.

'Yeah?' Kinda abrupt, I guess.

'Doug? It's Kirsty.' Well, shit, that's better.

'Hey, Kirsty, how's it goin'?' Long pause.

'Uh, that's why I'm calling. Mom and Dad are fighting again, and Tanya's at camp, thank goodness, but I can't bear watching them. Can I come rent my room early? I have to get ready for next year, and the workload's going to be terrible and I'm getting worried already and... ' Pause, and I could almost feel the blush.

'And what?'

'And I'd like to see you.' Funny thing, as she was speaking I had two mental images. One kinda normal, her and me and the horizontal tango, but the other was her with little Doug and Lizzie. Didn't stop to consider: shows how goddam desperate I was.

'Kirsty, you promise to spend two days a week with little Doug and Lizzie, keep them outa the way so's I can start organizing stuff, the room's free till school starts. Days might vary, but you'll for sure have five clear. Could you be good with that?' There was a smile in her voice when she answered.

'I've got a car now, guilt present from Dad, so I could maybe do things with them, go swimming, stuff like that.' Like she was reading my mind. Real weird.

'So get your ass down here soon as you like, girl. Pains me to say it, but I'm real glad your folks are fightin'. When you gonna arrive?'

'This evening too soon?' Damn, that'll be nice.

'Cold cuts, salad, peaches, seven thirty. Be here or go hungry.' She giggled and hung up. Damn, but I sure can pick 'em.

Annie was in the old rocker on the back porch. Her hair was growing out blonde again, so she looked kinda strange, but she was cryin' less than she had been. Bull by the goddam horns, I thought, or we're gonna be tiptoeing round this till Christmas.

'Annie, we gotta start thinkin' about gettin' stuff straight before school starts. Shit, girl, it's mid July already. You got any ideas?' She sat up and looked straight at me.

'I been thinkin' that too, Doug, and that you been real patient, real kind, gentle with the kids. Makes me wanna hug you till you burst.' Jeez, today's a good day after all.

'Hell, Annie, any time you like. I'm good for that.' Her face clouded.

'I ain't sure I'm ready to screw yet.' I should fuckin' hope not: for all I knew those rednecks had given her the goddam clap.

'We're talkin' huggin', not screwin', woman, and don't you be so dam' apologetic. No gratitude either, remember? I fuckin' hate that. Whaddya think I am? Some kinda sex maniac?' Hard stare, then a grin.

'Course you're a fuckin' sex maniac, Doug, every chance you get. Now you listen to me. I been thinkin' about how Ray let me down, how I let him down, how both of us did it because of little Doug and Lizzie. Reason he fucked up in the first place was because he thought goin' down that route, he'd be doin' better by them. Dam' idiot, but his heart was good. What I did to him, that was for the kids too, and I'd do it again in a shot, I had to. Hurts like hell though. I'll learn to live with that, my own time, my own way, and when I done that we'll see how we feel. Now, you want me to hug you or not?' Shit, what do you do?

'You gonna get your ass over here?' She was next to me in a flash, arms wide open. I put mine round her, and she squeezed me so dam' hard I nearly shit. Fact is, holding her felt so dam' right I pulled her closer, nipped her ear kinda gentle. She gasped real quiet, pushed me away.

'I said I ain't ready for that, Doug. I'm still kinda flakey and that'd fuck you up real bad after a while, less you've changed one hundred eighty degrees. What you said before though, truth is I can't think much beyond tomorrow right now, so it's gonna be down to you for a while yet. I'm real sorry.' Me too, I thought. I realized the kids had joined us, looking kinda pleased, and a wave of fear ran through me.

'I got a few ideas. Run them past you tomorrow, see if they salute.' Funny thing, part of me kinda liked the picture we made, then the paranoia came back, so I disentangled myself, went and looked out my bay window. Safest place to be, you ask me.

Pressure had been building, I guess, and when I saw a car pull up, Kirsty get out, I felt a sense of relief almost, real unusual. Didn't go help her though: no point setting precedents. Waited for the bell, opened for her, gave her the hug then. Seemed pleased with that, and again when I took the biggest case, hauled it up the stairs for her.

'Gonna have to give you Donna's room, Kirsty. Annie and the kids are on the top floor. That OK?' She rolled her eyes.

'Anywhere that isn't a war zone, Doug, and as long as I can visit some.' The old blush made its appearance, but I didn't call her on it. Gave her another hug though.

'C'mon down when you've washed up an' all, I'll lay out how I wanna organize this.'

'Mr. Control front and center, huh?' Didn't really understand what she meant, but she was smiling so I let it ride.

Annie was kinda surprised to see Kirsty, but the kids looked happy, and when I mentioned the plan, them to spend time doing activities with her while Mom and I went to do grownup stuff, they started telling the world what they wanted to do, how often, where, didn't stop at all hardly. I kinda wished they'd stayed with just nodding, but Annie looked pleased, so I let it alone, thought about Kirsty and the horizontal tango, hoped Annie would be cool with it. Wasn't too worried, but you never know. When they jumped up, told the kids to clear the table, went to see to the dishes together, I felt kinda smug, sat back and hoped it worked out. Damned if I was gonna carry the whole weight. Right after that, Annie scooped the kids up, gave me a kiss on the cheek, took off upstairs. Kirsty came sat next to me on the couch, leaned back, her head against my shoulder.

'She looks a lot better than she did before. She said you'd been very kind, and asked me if I knew you're an enigmatic set of paradoxical contradictions.' Jesus Christ.

'Annie never said anything like that in her life, Kirsty. Figured you'd get on though. Whaddya wanna do now?' Hoping for a real positive answer.

'Unpack, help Annie put the kids to bed, and then come say hello properly.' Hell, I've heard worse.

I was still on the couch when she reappeared, gave me a shy kiss.

'Everyone settled, Poppa Doug, and I'm going to say some things to you, but when we're in bed, so you can't escape. Are there any more chores left?' I swear I don't know shit about women. Kinda depressing, considering how much I like 'em.

'Why are we still out here?' I shooed her into the bedroom, went to fix a nightcap for us both. Big one for her. "In vino veritas", I read somewhere; five minutes, we were in bed, propped up and sipping, my arm round her, stroking her breast.

'First thing, I'm on the pill, because it seemed like a good thing to do.' Dam' right, I thought, and cheered up some. 'Second, ' she went on, 'I've had a nice talk with Annie. She started it, so I thought it wasn't against the rules. I mean, the friend of my friend ought to be my friend too: right?' I guess that's one way of looking at it.

'Hell, Kirsty, I guess that's one way of lookin' at it. Annie and you are sure kinda different though.' She shook her head.

'We're from different backgrounds, and her schooling was sorta skimpy, and she's twenty years older than me, but we've got a lot in common.' She reached down and stroked my cock. 'Apart from liking this, I mean. And the rest of you as well.' Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Whatever next?

'Kirsty, I gotta say, you've sure changed. You wanna explain that? I mean, I'd kinda like to understand.' She chuckled.

'Your fault, and a good thing too. I mean, I was the one who pushed you, and I still don't know where I got the nerve, but the way you did it was so kind and thoughtful; clever too. I was wanting to get it all right straight away, and now I know that's not the point, and somehow I seem to know more about people too. It's like you made me grow up.' She wanted to think bullshit, fine by me.

'You guys come to any conclusions while you were dissectin' me?' She nodded vigorously, as if she'd been hoping I'd ask.

'When I said I didn't have a clue what had happened to her she just smiled and said she knew that already, because the few principles you had were mostly good and not gossiping is one of them.' Balls.

'Kirsty, you gotta stop putting Annie's words into psychspeak. Makes my head spin. What she said to you was real direct, fulla cussin' an' all. I know her, remember?' The blush had a quick outing, then she relaxed and grinned.

'It's what she meant. Then she told me that liking you was great, but loving you was a disaster, and she'd seen it happen twice and both times you did something so they stopped loving you. And that if you wanted something real bad, get out of your way fast. Is that true? I think she was warning me, but in a nice way.' Oh, shit.

'Annie don't lie too much. I got burnt bad when I was younger and now I guess I ain't so great at compromise. Always makes me feel kinda trapped, real antsy, start behavin' badly. I am who I am, I guess.' Didn't say I lie a tad more than Annie does. Kirsty stroked my cock again, squeezed gently.

'Then she said had you done that thing with your tongue yet, and I said yes, and we started laughing, and then she looked thoughtful and said it wouldn't spoil what she and you had, and when it was the other way round she'd help me with that. She's a very wise person, Doug.' Holy shit. I made a mental note to give Annie another hug real soon. All of a sudden I felt real relieved, real horny too. She noticed the horny part and squeezed again.

'You foolin' with my body, girl?' No reply, but she plucked my glass out of my hand, put it with hers on the bedside table, wriggled down the bed till she was horizontal.

'Yes. But I want you to fool with mine first.'

'Mebbe I could show ya that thing with my tongue again. Can't recall doin' that for a while.' Sure didn't want her feeling needy and the party trick's always a good ice breaker. Didn't trust her to stay aboard without killing me though, so I slipped off the bed, hauled the covers back.

'What are you doing?' Hopeful but puzzled.

'Gonna show you the luxury version. Now get your ass down here, bring a pillow with you.' She scooted down the bed in a flash, eyes bright, keen to learn, and I spent a while teasing her, arranging everything just so, stuff like that. Noticed while I was tucking the pillow under her ass that she'd trimmed her bush some and there was naturally alkaline activity going on in the target area: seemed like lube wasn't gonna be high on the shopping list. I guess I spun the preparations out some, and she was looking kinda flushed, scent of need coming off her like steam from a goddam kettle.

'Don't be mean, Doug. Please?' Shit, I love it when they ask nicely, so I dipped into the swamp without teasing her no more. She loved that, breath hissing as she inhaled, legs opening wider, pelvis rocking up to meet my tongue. Maybe she'd give me a certificate of competence, I did real good.

It's kinda difficult to explain how much I enjoy eating a woman. Some of it's pure taste and texture, I guess, but on top of that, you go down on them good, they like to show appreciation. Plus, I have a sorta special fondness for BJ's, better than the main course sometimes, and it's crossed my mind that mebbe the party trick is one more form of delayed gratification. Worked for Kirsty, sho' nuff. I ran my tongue over and round the ball park while she muttered, tried to get it all at once. Then her hands reached down, pushed my head harder into her crotch.

'Quickly, before I burst.' Her voice was a strangled grunt and I had to reposition, but when I got the angles right she moaned deep in her throat, settled down to enjoy. I used the whole box of tricks on her, didn't let her escape, and I swear she was nearly sobbing by the end. Sadistic Doug. Took pity on her then, pushed hard, nose pressing on her clit, tip of my tongue trying to drill through her G spot, and she went fuckin' ballistic, humping my mouth, squawking like a dam' parrot, all kinds of extravagance. Couldn't scarcely believe the noise coming out of her. What with the teasing and the holding back and making sure she had a nice time, I was hard as wood, started wondering if mebbe women could sense when a guy got turned on by muff diving, made them want to give something real good back. I was pondering that some when Kirsty's hands pushed my head away.

'No more, Doug, please, or you'll have to explain to my Dad how you killed me.' I realized I'd been pinning her hips with both arms while I worked on her, and her voice sounded as if she was having a goddam stroke: I felt a tad ashamed for not paying attention.

'Shit, Kirsty, I'm sorry. I guess I got kinda carried away there. Easy to lose yourself when everything tastes so good.' Always a killer line, and she smiled to herself, hitched herself back up the bed.

'Come hold me while I get my breath back and then I'll show you what I can do.' When I was back up and comfortable she nestled into the crook of my arm, let her hand drift down to my cock, real nice, and I flexed it, show her that I was ready any time.

Well, shit, I gotta say she did pretty well. Plenty of tongue work, lips closed, teeth well out of the way, steady rhythm. I was the technical kind, I'd have given her a six. Got to the point where I was having to hold back some, and then she rubbed me delicately right below my asshole. Plain to see she'd been doing some research and I felt a little stab of admiration, let myself go, and damned if she didn't take the full load, swallowed convulsively, then looked up at me, eyes hopeful. Better to show approval.

'Jeez, girl, suddenly you got a style of your own. You been readin' books again?' She gave me a final lick, hitched herself up and settled against me.

'You're not just saying that just to be nice?' Only a little bit.

'No need to watch too many more films, girl, and that's the truth. Practice any time you want' She was pleased with that and dozed for a little, woke up for a slow and easy main course, went back to sleep again. I waited a while, slipped out of bed, fixed myself a fresh drink, went to the window. Only ten o'clock, and there was life on the street still, cars drifting by, the occasional jogger. I sipped scotch and thought about how BJ's are real good personality indicators. Could be there's an original doctorate hiding in that fact somewhere for anyone who could get the funding. Hell, without any dam' funding would be good too. Annie could help some when she quit being so goddam sentimental about dumbshit Ray, plus mebbe an appendix on girls who didn't. I tried to drag my mind back to Annie's problems, but the BJ's kept crowding in. Couldn't much help it, but my mind slipped back some, settled on the class reunion.

The seven year reunions are always kinda big: college tradition, I guess. I'd taken to checking them out, see who I recognized. Fact is, there's a type of woman who thinks a nostalgia fuck don't count. Well, hell, no more it does, but that ain't the point.

The auditorium was full of the usual mix: people pretending they hadn't changed, proving they had, wishing they had, wishing they hadn't, wondering if they should; everyday blend of the made it's and the wannabe's. I was sipping beer, scanning the room, when my heart rate doubled. I gotta admit, I thought some before going over. She'd been the first one I hurt bad, and I guess I beat myself up some at the time. On the other hand, so what?

'Hey, Judy, long time.' Seven years hadn't made a lotta difference. Little thinner in the face maybe, hair styled a little more expensive, but still the same girl. Didn't have the "I got kids" look, no wedding ring neither. She flushed slightly as she caught me noticing.

'Doug!' She was wearing the same goddam scent, I swear, and it was like being dragged back in time. After about a thousand years she let go and I sucked oxygen hard. She leaned back and looked at me.

'Nothing changes, huh? You look pretty much the same, I guess.' She took a deep breath. 'Lot of water under the bridge though.' Love those goddam clichés.

'Hell, Judy, you ain't changed hardly at all either. Recognized you right away. Whatcha doin'? Still salvagin' screwed up kids?' She cracked a small smile.

'I'm a psychologist dealing with troubled juveniles, if that's what you mean.'

'Always did have a weakness for the whack jobs, I recall. How's the doc?' No harm reminding her why we split. She flushed, and I imagined the warmth spreading down under the professional neckline of her conservative dress and staining the top surface of her freckled breasts.

'Uh, Not any more.' She pulled herself together. 'What about you? What's new?'

'Hell, Judy, not a lot, tell the truth. Came into a little money, bought a big ol' house, rent rooms to college kids. Live good enough, read some, go to the gym, have a pretty nice time.' She shook her head.

'You really haven't changed. Do I get to see it?' Voice sorta hesitant. Well, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The group she was with were looking kinda impatient so no time to fuck around.

'Shit, girl, any time you want. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, take your pick.' Kinda daring, but seemed to me she'd relaxed some, smile more natural, body language, stuff like that. The hug had been real promising too.

'Lunch would be safer, I think.' She glanced round, flapped her hand at whoever she'd been talking to, dropped her voice. 'Give me the address and tell me a time. Marcy Steiner needs to tell me all about her divorce.' She rolled her eyes comically, dug in her bag for a pen, kissed my cheek before she hurried off.

Well, shit. I didn't stay to check out the rest of the crop, just went home, planning a little. Didn't sleep great either: I mean, I was up and fretting by eight-thirty, for Christ's sake, ain't like me at all.

I gotta admit I went to the gym that morning. I never been a big fan of exercise, but I learned a while back that when my body goes south my mind kinda follows it, so I went at it a mite hard. By the time I was home I knew how I was gonna play it. Older, wiser, a tad wary. Not cynical, please note, nor bitter: my view, that tends to turn women off some, but bruised and skeptical just cries out for understanding.

Couldn't go stand in my front window, case she thought I was waiting for her, so I sat in the kitchen and practiced smart dialog. Then I got to wondering why it mattered so much. Chances were she just wanted to show she was sorry; I cracked a beer, started planning how to help her do that, and was kinda surprised when the bell rang.

'Hi, Judy, welcome to Casa Doug.' She was wearing a little skirt, some kinda scoop neck top, flat shoes, just a hint of makeup. Tell the truth, she looked hotter than chili. 'Hell, girl, you look good. Howdya do it? Witchcraft?' She snorted.

'Being a woman isn't easy. I thank God every day for good genes. This house is lovely: can I have the ten cent tour?'

Fact is, I kinda like showing the place off. I mean, I done a pretty good job on it, and she oohed and aahed, made all the right noises, I never thought you had it in you, real pleasing. Course, I saved my apartment till last, and when I opened the door from the hallway and ushered her in, she stopped dead after two paces.

'This is really nice, Doug. You had help with it though, didn't you?' Well, shit.

'Hell no. I spent years plannin' how I wanted to live. Go look at the rest while I play in the kitchen.' She came through after a while, sat at the kitchen table, poured herself a glass of the wine I'd put out.

'Totally you. Books everywhere, not one square foot of closet space for anyone else, and a bidet in the bathroom.'

'Hell, Judy, there's times I need to wash my ass; there's times guests like that too. Nothing wrong with hygiene, courtesy neither.'

'That says it all. I'm impressed though. This place must have cost a fortune.'

'Told you I came into some money; thought if I was only gonna do it once, might as well do it right. Paillard of chicken, green salad, fruit: good for you?' She took a sip of wine and nodded, and I fixed and served, sat opposite her. She looked at her plate and half smiled.

'Presentation still important, huh?'

'Eat your dam' lunch, girl, and relax, why don't you?' She took a forkful of salad and chewed kinda absently.

'You never answered my calls, nor my letters after we... ' Ah hah.

'Hell, Judy, you'd kinda made your mind up, and I never known the "we can still be friends" line work for real. Time's about the only cure, I guess.' Look of rueful confession. 'Kinda shameful, but there was a part of me wanted to hurt you.' Mature Doug. Regrets but no apology. 'Leave that aside, I guess. Is it OK to ask what happened with the doc?' She drained her glass and refilled it. Hmmm. Definitely drinking faster than she used to.

'One day I woke up and didn't feel anything. Nothing at all. Still don't know why. So I pretended for a while, and then told him, and we just finished it as tidily as we could. He wasn't as upset as I thought he'd be.' She sighed. 'It was a difficult time. Sometimes I wonder why it all happened.' Better not to explain.

'Why? Hell, Judy, shit happens, period. Lemme guess, you threw yourself into your work, felt kinda bad, told yourself it wouldn't last forever, just like the advice columns.' She managed a smile, took in some more wine.

'What else? About six months after that I visited here for Marcy's wedding, and I asked around. Someone told me you were working for that man who was killed in a car crash, and seeing his secretary.' Jesus, who told her that?

'Damn, Judy, when McCarthy was killed the job went too, and Kelly and I drifted apart, I guess. How come you were askin'?' She looked a mite embarrassed.

'I guess I had some foolish idea about apologizing, reaching closure, something like that. Then when I found out you'd moved on, I tried to forget about it.'

'No need to apologize, girl. I never thought you were wantin' to hurt me; fact is, you looked like you were hurtin' too. It's like you said last night: water under the goddam bridge. You want coffee?'

'And a proper drink, please.' Good Lord above.

'Booze in the cupboard behind you, mixers in the fridge. I'll have scotch over ice, easy on the scotch.' I started to clear the table, load the dishwasher, heard her clinking and pouring behind me. 'Didn't know you'd moved on to hard liquor, Judy.'

'If it's been a bad day or I'm seeing old friends. It's not like I need to go to meetings or anything.' Kinda defensive, I thought.

'No criticism intended.' She was on the couch when I took the tray through, body language a mite tense, expectant maybe. Time to prime the pump some.

'So gimme a day in the life of Judy Olsen.' Big exhalation, long drink. Looked like she was on rum and coke...

'Get up, go to the clinic, see a bunch of fuckwit dropouts, go home, fall asleep.' Sounded great.

'Still got that potty mouth. And weekends?'

'Try not to think about Monday.' When I hear stuff like that I know I made the right decisions.

'Shit, Judy, there's gotta be more to life. You're gonna crash and burn, you ain't careful.' I guess I must have spoken kinda harsh, and her eyes started to look a tad too bright. She took another drink and nodded, tried to smile brightly, failed by a country mile.

'I know, and your crack about hard liquor was too near the mark. I'm in a rut and I don't know how to climb out of it.' She looked at me blearily. 'You got any suggestions?' I reached out and took the glass from her, sniffed. Rum and coke my ass. Coke and rum was nearer the mark. Woman was half bagged. I'd wanted her loose, not fuckin' dismantled.

'First suggestion is a nap. You're runnin' on empty, and putting booze in your tank don't help.' I hauled her up, steered her through to the bedroom, laid her down, pulled the quilt over her. She stared up at me for a coupla seconds, unfocused, then her eyes slid shut. Now what? There's nearly always a better choice than a closet lush wanting comforting. I fixed myself a bong, stretched out on the couch. Thinking time...

When I woke up my mouth felt like someone had puked in it, so I put a pint of juice into myself, went to brush my teeth. Looked like she was still asleep, but I noticed her skirt and top were lying on the floor, cute little bra on top of them. Picked them up, went to fix more juice and coffee, Tylenol too.

She took a little rousing, but I persevered, propped her up. Noticed her tits were still defying gravity pretty good, but left it at that, just slipped an arm round her, began pouring juice down her throat. Trustworthy Doug. When her eyes opened I showed her two Tylenol, eased them between her lips, tipped more juice after them. She wasn't responding too much, so I laid her down, let her drift away again. Me, I put some Tom Waits on, picked up my book. Didn't think I'd have too long to wait.

Wrong again. I'd moved from Tom to Steely Dan, watched some trash on TV, wondered if she was dead, before she came out of the bedroom looking embarrassed, wrapped in my robe, a towel round her wet hair.

'Feelin' better, girl?' She nodded and sat in the arm chair. I heaved myself up, fixed fresh coffee, watched while she sipped, began to look a tad more alert.

'I got into the shower without thinking. I'm sorry. What happened to my clothes?'

'Hell, Judy, I came to look at you and they were all over the floor, so I folded them, gave you juice and Tylenol, let you sleep some more.' She shook her head.

'Thanks for handling it, I guess. Maybe I ought to go to those meetings after all.' She looked real miserable, voice wobbling, and I felt a flash of sympathy.

'Need to cut back some, I guess, but you ain't a drunk. Believe me, I seen plenty of those. You want anything else?'

'Maybe some warm milk?' You do one thing for a woman, you end up doing everything

'Comin' right up, ma'am.' She sipped, looked better when she'd done. I just sat and watched her, thought she looked kinda cute. Stay with the play, Doug.

'Where you stayin', Judy? I'll give you a ride, soon as you're ready.' Her shoulders slumped a mite. Not much, but plain enough if you know someone. Well, OK.

'The Days' Inn, right next to campus. You've been so kind, Doug. I don't know how to thank you.' Shit, I know exactly what you can do.

'Uh, I got a spare room here, and last time I looked there weren't no strings attached to it. You can put a pair of sweats on, kick back a while more.' 'No strings at all?' Click. Gotcha. Perfectly reasonable question, but gotcha.

'Jeez, Judy, I never fuckin' took advantage of you in my life, and I ain't plannin' to start now. But we usedta mean a helluva lot to each other, an' I reckon I owe you for the good times.' Shook my head as if I was astonished. 'Hell, girl, your call. Do I fire up the truck or show you your room?' She looked a tad ashamed, no goddam reason to, except I'd pushed her to feel just that.

'I'm ... I'm sorry, Doug. I didn't mean... ' long pause, then a deep breath. 'I guess you've got a wash and dry setting for delicate fabrics, haven't you? Otherwise I'll have to go after all.' Bingo. And trying to make a little joke too.

'Attagirl. I'll make up the bed, you decide what we're gonna have to eat.' Got up and started doing stuff before she started thinking straight.

After that the evening worked out pretty good. Didn't like the sweats I put out for her, asked if she could borrow a T-shirt and shorts instead. None of the shorts suited, so could she just use a pair of my boxers? Fine by me. Said she didn't wanna eat, not really, so I called for pizza, and of course she decided she could manage one slice maybe. Put away nearly half of it in the end. Settled back onto the couch after, her a little closer than before, listened to her ramble on some. Boiled down to life was a bitch, she hadn't been laid in a while, and that had been kinda accidental, not the best five minutes of her life. Thanks for sharing, Judy.

'What about you, Doug? I've confessed, but you haven't said anything about your personal life.' Fish in a fuckin' barrel, but I was gonna let her do the work.

'No-one regular, Judy.' That was the truth for sure. 'I guess I'm not cut out for normal domestic. I gotta coupla good friends, and hell, this is a college town.' Rueful smile. 'Try not to hurt anyone, is my mission statement more or less.' Perfect.

'There are times I think I made a real big mistake.' Whoa there. Don't go that route.