Untrusting (Troubled) (27 page)

We go out for some fresh air and
have a few, not so kind, comments about the conversation.  We aren’t
pleased with the catty tone of the conversation.  We feel they can be mad,
or not like them, but to laugh at them is another thing.  Maybe there’re
reasons we don’t know about.  Neither, Maria nor I have relatives like
theirs so we don’t know how we’d act.  We don’t care for Matilda and Teddy
and Mandy and Al were outspoken concerning them, too.  Maria and I decide
we’ll have dinner together tonight and ask the guys about it.  We go in
when Mom calls us for the next patient.

After we clean and close the
clinic, we decide to have dinner at the “Barn,” but Shay isn’t invited
tonight.  We talk about how Shay’s taking to Bob being there.  He’s
glad to have Bob around more.  We talk about the trip and bring it around
to Bridget.  When we asked why they had laughed about Bridget, they start
chuckling.  Seeing our confusion, they explain Bridget was the last one in
a long line of attempts to marry one of Matilda’s relatives into Miss Lili’s
money.  They never give up trying to get into Miss Lili’s bank
account.  They believe the town’s trust can be used by Miss Lili anyway
she wants and because they’re distant relatives, they think they’re entitled to
some of the money.  The trust is explained to them every time they call
and, yet, they still try to get Miss Lili to break it.  The relatives
believe the trust will, then, be up for grabs and they’d get their hands on it,
at least that’s our take on their actions.  They don’t know the
particulars of the trust because they don’t stand a chance of getting any of
the money, per the trust.  However, they’ve been told the next executor
has been named, according to the trust dictates.

But they keep trying to get to the
money.  “Hell, Bob and I don’t get any of the money, either.  And
when we inherit it we still can’t get more than what’s allocated.  But
they make a game of ‘gettin’ the bank’ through me.  The last time they
brought a girl out I told them I wouldn’t marry anyone they introduced me to if
she was the last woman on earth.  Obviously, they can’t take a hint or
they’re so use to wearing people down they won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. 
We laugh at them more outta anger and frustration than anything else, and at
their not so subtle stabs at ‘gold digging’.  They won’t accept anything
we say, concerning their efforts and won’t believe we’re smart enough to spot
their attempts for what they are.”

Now Maria and I understand. 
The three of them are tired of all the stupid attempts at getting their hands
on a “rich man.”  Bob adds, these attempts at the money have been going on
for twenty years or more and the “match making” has been going on since Steve
was a junior in high school.  It’s gotten to be so expected they just
laugh it off, like a joke.  We get up to leave after supper and give the
guys a hug.  Maria and Bob go home and Steve and I go back to my house.

I ask Steve if he thinks of my home
as his, too.  He says as long we’re together, that’s home.  But Miss
Lili’s will always be home because it will be his some day.  I understand
now.  At home, he hugs me then we shower together and go to sleep
snuggling, content with each other.

Today rivals yesterday in
hectic.  Chief’s x-rays show his rib is still fragile, but he’s fine otherwise. 
José’s splint comes off and they’re off, limping and slowly, glad to be free of
encumbrances.  I suggest Chief should come to the ranch with us, when
we’re together there.  Steve agrees, except, the floor space is so small
and Chief would take up most of it, making Steve’s mobility problematic. 
So we agree, for now, Chief will stay at Miss Lili’s with José and Chaucee.

Chief, José and Chaucee insist on
going to the kennel room to relax.  They’re soon wrestling, playing
tug-o-war and chasing each other.  When I check on them later, they’re
curled in a ball of fur, asleep.  I notice Chaucee, at ten weeks, is as
big as Jose.  She’ll grow to be twice Jose’s size and weight.  That’s
some group of friends.  I smile and go back to work.

Chief, José and Chaucee visit all
day then want to go home.  I knew then Chaucee has the right home. 
Miss Lili and Glen take the dogs home, leaving us to clean the clinic before we
close.  Miss Lili wants us to come to dinner.  She’s had a ham on all
afternoon.  She’s trying to impress Glen with her cooking she tells Maria
and me, later, when the guys aren’t so close.  Steve looks at me and I
shrug.  Then he looks at Bob and Maria.  Maria looks uncertain about
the dinner invitation.

Maria says Shay is getting too
spoiled with all the dinners away from home.  Miss Lili says this is going
to be the family Thanksgiving dinner.  She and Glen will be at his
daughter’s for Thanksgiving.  They’re going there to meet the whole
family, before they come here for Christmas.  So Maria gives in.

As usual the dinner is great. 
Then Miss Lili announces Glen and she will be leaving Sunday for Memphis. 
They plan to sightsee along the way so they arrive at Glen’s on Tuesday before
Thanksgiving.  We tell them to be sure to call.  They’re in their
seventies and Glen has been driving safely, to date, but everyone’s concerned
anyway.  Well, I am, but Steve gives me a look that says “Don’t say it.”

Miss Lili says she called
Representative Andrews and he doesn’t have any free time to visit Granite Bluff
until after the New Year.  He expects to be able to visit in January.

When we leave, we go to the office
to meet Maria, Bob and Shay.  We have the conversation Steve’s look
postponed.  Finally, we admit we can’t say anything to Miss Lili and
Glen.  It would sound like parents telling their teenage daughter the
dangers of dating a boy alone.  Maria and I remember how mad that made us,
so we’ll just grin and wish them luck.  Looks like her “boys” and her
“girls” are being phased out, at least, for now.  We agree we’re not sure
we like it.

Then the boys discuss
Thanksgiving.  Miss Lili has given out her food baskets and she’s arranged
for the Senior Citizens’ Center to host the free Thanksgiving Dinner for the
poor, as well as the seniors.  That leaves Bob and Steve at loose ends, a
new development for them.  Bob can go with Maria and Steve can go with me,
except they haven’t spent a holiday dinner separated since high school. 
We decide amongst ourselves Maria and I would cook Thanksgiving dinner at Miss
Lili’s and our families would have dinner there.  Steve and Bob
agree.  Now we have to convince our families.  A simple task, we
hope.

We go home satisfied with what
we’ve decided.  We know Christmas may be a different experience for all
us, but we don’t mention it.  A shower and a good night’s sleep will be
helpful when we approach our families.

Saturday afternoon we spend in town
with Miss Lili and Glen.  They’ll be leaving right after breakfast
tomorrow.  The boys have been home alone for two weeks before.  So
they’ll be fine.  Yeah, fine.  They sounded a bit like scared little
boys during the conversation.

On the way home, Steve talks about
never having had a holiday without Miss Lili.  And how empty the house is
when she’s not there.  I guess all that talk at Miss Lili’s, about having
the house all to themselves, was just bravado for Miss Lili’s peace of
mind.  “Sher, would you consider staying with me next week? 
Otherwise, the house will be too quiet.  The week ya’ll were gone we thought
we’d gone deaf when we were home.  It’s just too quiet…and boring.” 
I tell him I’ll think about it, but not tomorrow night, for sure.

Sunday we have dinner with Mom and
Dad and ask them about Thanksgiving.  They agree it would be nice and they
don’t mind.  At eight o’clock Steve’s packed and is in his truck to leave,
but he doesn’t want to go without me.  I tell him I’d see him tomorrow
afternoon, we have the newsletter and the posters to work on.  And I’ll
have my truck with me so we’ll figure things out then.

He leaves, almost whinin’,
protestin’ sleepin’ alone tonight.  I remind him Bob will be there. 
He smacks me on the butt and lets me know that kind of “alone” wasn’t what he
meant and I shouldn’t be such a smart ass.

Once he’s gone, I go in to find
space and emptiness.  And when I go to bed I find the same things, not
something I like anymore.  I’m up early, since I had no interruptions in
my sleep and find myself packing a bag.  I put it in the truck and go to
work.  I’ll call Mom later to let her know I won’t be home for a few days.

Maria and I are swamped so we have
to work on the newsletter between appointments.  There isn’t much to do
because of the holiday, but we have a note from Miss Lili telling us to be sure
we have the posters for the free dinner out by Tuesday and it needs to be
big.  How are we going to do that with a regular printer?

At four the sign men are here to
put up both signs.  At four ten a man comes in for the prototype poster
for the dinner.  The poster Steve has when he comes in, five minutes
behind them.  At four thirty the phone starts ringing asking about our
boarding rates.  Steve hands us a folder that was put together while we
were on vacation with the recommended rates schedule in it.  He said Miss
Lili had flyers put out last week for the boarding house opening this week and
he shows us the flyer in the folder.  Mom comes in at four forty five and
shows us where all the information and registration forms are kept.  By
five o’clock, Maria and I are about as confused as we can get, but we clean the
office and close it.

I ask Maria and Steve if we can
have supper together so we can figure everything out.  Maria thinks it’s a
good idea, but Steve’s puzzled.  I ask Mom if she and Dad could join us,
since she seems to know more about things than Maria and I do.  At supper,
we find out everything we knew would happen has happened and we have no clue
about any of it.  Mom agrees to come in tomorrow to help with the
reservations and registrations of our pet guests.

I tell Mom I’d planned to stay with
Steve ‘til Friday when I’d be home.  She and Dad are okay with it. 
Mom asks if I’m “taking precautions” and I tell her yes.  She gets in her
car and drives away with a smile on her face.  Dad follows her with the
same smile on his face.  Steve asks what the smiles were about and I have
to tell him “I haven’t the faintest idea.”

After supper we go to Steve’s where
he shows me to his room.  He rummages through his drawers making room for
my things.  I tell him it’s not necessary, but he insists I unpack. 
He wants me to be at home when I’m here.

He asks me how I slept last night
and I say okay.  “Didn’t ya miss me at all?”  I have to admit I
did.  “I didn’t sleep very well at all.  The bed was too big without
you in it.  I finally slept when I got to the station.  I’m afraid
I’ve gotten used to sleeping with you too easily.  I guess we just fit
together.”  He comes over to hold me.

I like the feel, but when he tries
to kiss me I back away.  “We can’t start anything now, I need to
familiarize myself with the house.”

He comes toward me again, “What
harm can one little kiss do?”  I shake my head.  “Aw, come on, just
one little kiss?”  I back away and shake my head.  “Not even
one?”  He’s still coming toward me.  I shake my head again and step
away, falling on the bed.  Damn.  I’m not familiar with the room
yet.  Steve’s on the bed beside me in a split second and has me held
tightly to him.  “Just one kiss and I promise I’ll let ya go.”  He
kisses me then keeps his promise.  Unfortunately, after the kiss we have
to get dressed to go to the kitchen.  I’d like to twist his ear to end the
cocky smile on his face, but my smile might weaken my act of reprimand. 
Instead I poke him in the ribs, but his smile only spreads.  I ignore it
since I can’t stop it.

When we sit on the couch, Chaucee
paws at my leg so I reach down to pick her up.  Again, I have to juggle
her while she wiggles and squirms in my arms.  She’s licking my face so
furiously I can’t speak.  When I try, I get her tongue in my mouth. 
Steve’s laughing his head off at us and my sputtering.  When I hand her
over to him, she gets him in the mouth, too.  I get up and across the room
before I start laughing at him.

 “Ya know ya can’t leave her
at home when ya stay with me, don’t ya?”

Steve’s eyes widen, “If Bob stays
at Maria’s and I’m at your place the dogs will be left alone most of the
weekend.  That’s not good.  I need to talk to Bob about how we’ll
handle this.”

“Don’t bother Bob.  We’ll just
bring the dogs out to my place.  The floor space will suffer, but it’s
only for a few days and Shay will get the wrong idea about the dogs.  I’ve
got wide open spaces for when they go out and Maria has a yard that’s geared to
Shay.  I think my way is best since its temporary.”

Steve nods and pats the couch
beside him and pulls me closer, when I sit down.  Then there’s another
round of kisses from Chaucee and one or two from Steve for me.  The phone
rings and I answer it.  It’s Miss Lili checking in.  I’m suddenly
nervous about staying the night.

They expect to be a Glen’s tomorrow
afternoon.  Wednesday they expect to see a few of the sights in Memphis,
maybe even Graceland.  Then tomorrow night she’ll be cooking for the
family.  She’d stopped Glen from catering Thanksgiving dinner.  She’s
hoping his daughter and daughter-in-law will help some.  She’s glad I’m
staying to keep the boys company.  I don’t want to burst her bubble, but
I’ll be at work when Bob’s up and asleep when he comes in.  We’ll see how
it works tonight, I guess.

Steve pops some popcorn and turns
on a movie we watch ‘til the ten o’clock news.  The same ol’ thing is on
the news, except for rain and wind tonight.  We go to bed.  Steve has
a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.  He’s hoping to get off the crutches and
into a walking boot.

I feel strange sleeping here so I
ask Steve if he felt this way when he stayed at my place.  He had at
first, but once my Dad had come over and made him feel like part of the family,
he was fine.  Once, in our amorous activities, we get a little loud and I
shush Steve, but he reminds me we’re alone.  He tells me later, that
Thanksgiving Day they’ll be using a skeleton crew at the station. 
Dispatcher, only, but he or Bob will go over to relieve the dispatcher so he
can go home for dinner with his family.  There’s to be no alcoholic
beverages at dinner for that reason.  I agree, since my family has never
had anything but iced tea or lemonade with Thanksgiving dinner.  We
snuggle and fall asleep easily.

At the office, Maria tells me her
family, of twenty will come to dinner.  They’d happily agreed to not cook
and relax on Thanksgiving.  I look at her and she looks at me.  “Not
cook?  Does that mean we have to do ALL the cooking?”

Maria nods.  “Unless, we can
get my family to bring some Mexican dishes to go with the typical American
Thanksgiving dinner, the cooking is all up to us.”  I have to sit
down.  Thanksgiving dinner for thirty people, our first time cooking one,
is monumental.  Maria leans against the counter, folds her arms across her
chest and stares straight ahead, as if lost in space.

Mom comes in, takes one look at us
and asks, “Thanksgiving dinner’s become a problem, I assume.  What can I
do to help?”

“Can you drive the get away car?” I
ask.  She laughs, but I’m serious.

“No such luck.  We’ll make a
menu from both Maria’s family and ours for Thanksgiving and we’ll start
preparing the dishes tomorrow night, leaving only the hot dishes for
Thanksgiving.  Maria, call your mother to come help so we can get this
done.  The sooner the better.”

Two hours after Maria makes the
call to her mother the menu is set.  The recipes discussed and offers of
help by preparing some of the dishes from Maria’s mother, who will employ the
help of an aunt or two since they always bring something to the dinner
anyway.  We now have a shopping list, too.  Steve and Bob come in
just in time to help the mothers with cooking utensil information.

He and Bob had doctor’s
appointments today so he got off early and they went together.  Steve
offers to take the mothers over to the house so they can go through the kitchen
to see what they’ll need to supply, if anything.  Steve has on a hard
walking boot and has a cane.

Steve takes the mothers to check
out Miss Lili’s kitchen while Bob and Maria go out back.  They haven’t had
much time to see each other this week.  Bob has a soft cast under a more
solid splint and still has both crutches.  When they come in Maria says we
need to add fifteen more dinner guests.  Bob’s family is coming,
too.  Okay.  I wonder if Mom’s changed her mind yet, or if I can change
it, about driving.  Maybe I can convince her, but I’ll have to wait for
her to get back first.

Mom just laughs when I ask
again.  She says Miss Lili has everything we need.  Including double
ovens and all the utensils we could want.  We need enough plates and
silverware for the forty five now expected.  We decide to use paper plates
and plastic flatware.  Bob’s mother is going to see to most of the
desserts.  Mom will bring two pumpkin pies.  We’ll need more tables
and chairs.  Steve and Bob say the garage has folding tables and chairs
for fifty.  Miss Lili uses them for the Easter Egg hunt for the needy
families with children.

Okay, we’re organized for dinner. 
The appointments are through and its time to clean the office and close. 
We have some shopping to do tonight.  Tomorrow night we’ll be cooking from
closing time to…dawn.  Maria agrees to spend the night tomorrow so we can
work late and get up early.  I tell Maria and Bob to take some time to
themselves before Bob has to go to work.  We take Shay shopping with Steve
and me.

Sam’s Club and Walmart make a
killing with us.  Four hundred dollars later, we stop at Burger King for
supper and head home.  Maria’s waiting for us when we get home at
nine.  Shay, poor guy, is asleep in his car seat.  Unfortunately,
there’s no capable man to help us get him into Maria’s car.  So we
struggle through and get the job done, without waking him up.  Maria says
the dinner has become enormous.  I agree, then say see ya tomorrow and she
goes home to bed.

I have food to find places
for.  Steve reminds me there’re two refrigerators in the garage.  I’m
trekking back and forth between the house and the garage for about an
hour.  I’m, finally, able to sit down.  “Hey, honey, did you know
it’s supposed to rain Thursday night?”  He hollers this over his shoulder
just as I find him relaxing with a beer and a bowl of popcorn.

“Who’re you talking to?”  I
have to ask.  He’s never called ME that before.

“You.  There’s no one else
here.”  He’s watching the sports part of the news now.  “Hey, the
Cowboys are playing Thanksgiving.  That oughta be a good game.  Do
you like football?”

“I guess.  I haven’t seen a
football game since college.  Dad likes it, tho’.”  I’ve come around
the couch and start to sit down when he grabs me and pulls me into his
lap.  He’s fast and he’s good.  The bowl of popcorn that was in his
lap when I started to sit down is on the floor with the beer bottle he was
drinking from and not a kernel or drop was spilled.  “How’d you do
that?”  I ask.  He just smiles and kisses me.  That must’ve been
answer enough, or I forgot the question sometime during the kiss.  He asks
if I’m ready for a shower and I say “yes” so the TV goes off and we go
upstairs.

Wednesday we have five check in’s
for the boarding house.  I check all the animals before they’re accepted
for their stay.  The cats like their areas and the dogs seem comfortable
in theirs.  We’re also going to have to check on them tomorrow.  The
cats are stationary because of the way the kennel is set up.  But the dogs
will need to be let out and the kennels cleaned before dinner is served at Miss
Lili’s and there’s only Maria and me to do it.  Life’s becoming
complicated.

Steve didn’t stop by after work
today.  When I get home I find him in the kitchen cooking supper.  He’s
making spaghetti, garlic bread and salad.  I come in behind him and hug
him.  He puts his arms across mine and says, “Sally, you gotta leave, the
woman I’m living with is gonna be home any minute.”  I try to break free,
but he holds on, laughing.  He manages to get turned around and holds me
tight against him.  “It was a joke, honey.  I like teasing you. 
Now kiss me ‘hello’ and get ready for supper.  Hopefully Maria and Shay
will be here soon.  Your Mom and Maria’s Mom will be over to have dinner
and help you two for a while tonight.  By the way, what’s your mother’s
name?”

“Lucy, and Maria’s mother’s name is
Beth, short for Elizabeth.  And who’s Sally?”

“’Sally’ was the first girl’s name
I could think of.  Next time I’ll have to come up with something like
‘Bambi’, or ‘Helga’, or ‘Heidi’.  Are ya jealous?”  He still has a
big smile on his face.

“No.  I just thought I should
leave so you and ‘Sally’ could have a little time together.  I seem to
have kept ya outta circulation these last few weeks.”  I struggle slightly
trying to get away.

“If you’ll stop squirming I’ll kiss
ya ‘hello’ before everyone arrives.  I won’t tease ya like that again if
your inclination is to runaway.”  His hold on me is loosening and his
smile is gone.

“You didn’t like my joke, either, I
see.”  I pull him closer and look up at him, “Kiss me before we’re
invaded.”  He smiles and kisses me so well the garlic bread almost
burns.  I go upstairs to change out of my “doggie” clothes and come back
down in shorts and a tank top.

Maria and Shay are coming in the
back door with their suitcase.  Steve shows them to their rooms because I
don’t know which rooms are whose yet.  He’s getting around much better
with the new foot wear.

When they get back to the kitchen,
Mom, Dad, Beth and Miguel are here for dinner.  Maria and I set the table
for all of us and put dinner on it.  We sit down to eat and when we’re
finished Steve, Maria and I clean up.  Steve loads the dishwasher since
we’ve never used one before.  We relax for a little while then start on
the cold dishes.  At seven we have ice cream for dessert and Shay’s gets a
bath and put to bed.

Then we get to work.  At
midnight the two turkeys are ready to put into the ovens at eight o’clock and
the ham’s ready to go in at ten.  Mom and Beth will be over by ten to
help.  Everyone leaves and after a cup of coffee, Maria and I go to
bed.  Steve went to bed at eleven, he has work from four to eleven
today.  Bob has to work from eight to four.  Maria’ll be glad to have
some time with him when he gets home.

I’m getting into bed just before
Steve has to get up.  He rolls over to snuggle with me and when he kisses
me the fire takes over and he’s late for work.  I, on the other hand,
sleep very well, with his scent and the warmth his body left in bed.

I wake to the smell of him and
realize I’m happy with him.  I hum as I shower and dress and go down the
stairs to heat the ovens.  The ovens on, I start coffee as Maria and Shay
come down for breakfast.  We have breakfast, just the three of us. 
Bob’s sound asleep.  After breakfast, we run to the office and take care
of the “guests” at the boarding house.  We’re back before the Moms arrive.

Chief, José and Chaucee keep Shay
busy for most of the morning.  At noon Maria and I leave Shay with the
Moms and go take care of the animals.  When we get back the house is full
of food and people.  Steve, off for dinner, organized the men and older
children so the tables and chairs are being set up.  We’re shown where the
tablecloths are kept and start dressing the tables and get things moving so
we’ll be ready for dinner.  Maria goes up to get Bob moving so he’s ready
when dinner is.

Thanksgiving at Miss Lili’s,
without her, was one Steve can’t remember ever enjoying more, but I don’t have
anything to compare it to.  The football game, the food, the people that
are soon to be relatives and the people he loves and cares about, minus
one.  Sher, has been more fun than she ever has.  I wonder if she’s
ready for what I have to say to her.  Maybe, I should wait, or maybe, I
should tell her now while her spirits are high.  Maybe, I should talk to
Bob before I say anything.  People have been leaving since five, when the
girls went to check on the guests.  Lucy and Dave and Beth and Miguel are
still here.  I’ll talk to Dave since Bob’s getting ready for work.

I ask Dave to go with me to watch
the dogs, as I opened the back door to let them out.  “Dave, I want to ask
Sher to marry me, but she’s been so edgy I can’t tell when I should approach
her.  Today she seems to be in a better state of mind and I thought….”

 “Ya thought you’d find out if
now’s a good time before ya say something and scare her off.  I can’t
really say if it’s a good time, or not.  I can say she’s in a better frame
of mind than any time before.  She’s been skittish and unpredictable about
relationships for some time.  Maybe, you can feel her out a bit about the
subject.  I know that if ya wait for her to be completely ready, you’ll be
backing up.  You can talk to Lucy, but I don’t think she’ll be able to
help ya approach Sher with that subject.  We’ve talked about her a few
times and neither of us understands her moods anymore.”  Dave’s not much
help and I’m not really encouraged.

Maybe, I should feel her out about
marriage, kids and living here.  I’ll have to wait for the
opportunity.  “When would be a good time to talk to her about what she
wants, like marriage and kids?”

“I know with Lucy the best time to
ask about those things is in bed.  We’ve decided many important things in
bed.”  Dave smiles, “We decided to adopt Sher during pillow talk.”  I
can only nod.

The dogs are ready to go in so I
thank Dave for the help and we go in.  As we go in I hear thunder and see
a few faint flashes of light, looks like we’re going to get the rain that was
forecast.

I find Sher and wrap my arms around
her to keep her still so I can mention the rain and ask if the boarding house
is buttoned down.  She said they had put the rain shields down over the
cats outside area when they were there at nine.  She talked Maria into staying
here tonight after Shay fell asleep while the guests were leaving.  Now
that we’re the only ones still here, Maria goes upstairs to shower before she
goes to bed.  She hollers goodnight down the stairs when she’s through.

I ask Sher if she wants to shower
with me, to save water, and she does after she elbows me in the ribs for using
the excuse of “saving water.”  She has no idea how she affects me and I
don’t know how to tell her.  I like her next to me in the shower and how
she responds to my touch.  And I like her gentle touches on my shoulders
and chest…and any place she touches.  She’s not as experienced as some of
the women I’ve been with, but she’s more in tune to me, instead of showing off
how much she knows.

After our extended shower, we
snuggle in bed and I notice how well she fits against me.  “Sher, have ya
ever wanted kids?”

“Yeah, when I was engaged, we
talked about having kids.  I wanted two, he wanted four.”  Sleep is
in her voice.

“Do ya still want kids?”

“I haven’t given it much thought
since then.  Why?  How many kids do you want?”  She adjusts her
pillow.

“I’d like to have two or
three.  We’re both only children and I think that’s pretty lonesome.”

“Yeah, but ya get more than ya
would have if ya had brothers or sisters.”  She’s settled down and her
voice is fading.

“Are ya saying you were a spoiled
child?”  She’s almost asleep.

“No, but I didn’t have to share my
toys.  Nor did I have anyone to share the chores with, either.”  It’s
barely a whisper.